"Today we have handed over 87 Indian nationals mostly fishermen to BSF India," Pakistan Rangers spokesman Muhammad Asif told PTI adding the Indians were handed over after meeting the legal requirements.
Owing to lack of coordination between the Pakistan Rangers and Foreign Ministry, the Indian nationals who were released from the Landhi Jail, Karachi on March 6 could not be handed over to the Indian authorities.
Earlier, Pakistan Rangers official Major Waheed said that all arrangements to hand over the released prisoners to the Indian authorities were made but none of India's foreign ministry officials reached Wagah to sign the documents to hand over the prisoners.
After the release of the 87 prisoners, another 457 Indians remain in jail in Karachi and most of them are fishermen arrested for territorial violation.
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Landhi Jail deputy superintendent Shakir Shah said the 87Indians had been in jail for more than two years.
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N Patel, a senior official of the Fisheries Department of Gujarat Government, took the custody of the fishermen from the State freed by Pakistan.
Babubhai Bokharia, Gujarat Fisheries Minister, said that Patel was flown to Amritsar from Ahmedabad to take the custody of the fishermen.
Talking to