Pakistan on Wednesday announced that it would free 35 Indian prisoners on Friday as a goodwill gesture on the occasion of India's 61st Independence day.

The interior ministry said 34 Indian fishermen and a civilian prisoner will be released on Friday.

Hundreds of fishermen are arrested by India and Pakistan every year on charges of violating each other's territorial waters.

In May, Pakistan released nearly 100 Indian prisoners, most of them fishermen, on the occasion of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Islamabad [Images] for resuming the composite dialogue process.