Pakistan on Tuesday said that 296 Indian nationals, mostly fishermen, are being held in various jails in the country.
The latest information was issued by the foreign office as part of a biannual ritual about exchange of lists of prisoners.
The two rivals under Agreement on Consular Access of 2008 exchange information about prisoners in each other's custody every year on January 1 and July 1, respectively.
Spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said in a statement that the ministry of foreign affairs handed over a list of 296 Indian prisoners in Pakistan to the high commission of India in Islamabad. The list includes 47 civil offenders, 237 fishermen and 12 youth offenders. She did not specify the nature of charges.
Aslam said that a similar list of Pakistani prisoners lodged in Indian jails was also handed over to the high commission of Pakistan in New Delhi.
In addition to the exchange of prisoners' lists, the two countries also exchange list of civilian nuclear installations at the start of each year.
Image: Indian fishermen stand detained in the lockup of a Karachi police station on April 14, 2010. Photograph: Athar Hussain / Reuters
