184 fishermen reach Gujarat after release from Pakistan jail, warm welcome at Baroda Railway station

198 Indian fishermen, 184 of them from Gujarat, were released by the Pakistan government from a jail in Karachi late Thursday after completion of their sentences. The released fishermen include 184 from Gujarat, 3 from Andhra Pradesh, 4 from Diu, 5 from Maharashtra and 2 from Uttar Pradesh. Among the 184 people of Gujarat, 152 are from Gir Somnath district, 22 from Devbhoomi Dwarka, five fishermen from Porbandar, one each from Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kutch, Valsad and Navsari.

First batch of Indian fishermen reached Baroda early this morning by train from the Wagah border. Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel along with other leaders greeted them with garlands of flowers at Vadodara railway station. The fishermen have passed an important phase of Covid-19 pandemic in the jail of Pakistan. They were sent to their respective native districts by buses. On arrival, the fishermen thanked Union and State governments for their efforts to free them.

Pakistan often detains fishermen while they are going for fishing in Indian water territory in the Arabian Sea. They are prosecuted and jailed under the law prevailing there. Most of the fishermen caught in Indian waters are kept in the Lati Jail near Karachi. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel, Union Minister of State Shri Purushottam Rupala were in continuous contact with the Central Government to ensure the release of the fishermen from Gujarat from the jails of Pakistan.