Pakistan to release 360 Indian prisoners

Pakistan's Foreign Office said the prisoners would be released in four batches starting from April 8

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan will release 360 Indian prisoners this month, the foreign office said on Friday, as the nuclear-armed neighbours scale back from a confrontation that prompted world powers to urge restraint.

Tension has been running high since India accused Pakistan of planning an attack in Pulwama where at least 40 Indian paramilitary police were killed on Feb 14, and the risk of conflict rose dramatically on Feb 27, when India violated Pakistan’s airspace.

On the following day, Pakistan shot down two Indian fighter jets and captured pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, but released him later as a peace gesture.

Now, “Pakistan has decided that 360 Indian prisoners – having breakup of 355 fishermen and five civilians, who have completed their term of sentence, will be released,” Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for the Pakistan Foreign Office, told reporters.

He said the prisoners would be released in four batches starting from April 8.

Due to the rocky relations between the two sides, prisoners who have completed their jail terms often languish in each other’s jails for months, if not years, afterwards.

According to the lists exchanged by both sides in January, there are 347 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, 249 of whom are what the spokesman described as civilians and 98 fishermen.

There are 537 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails, 483 of whom are fishermen.

“We hope that India will reciprocate this,” the foreign office spokesman said.

Pakistan’s F-16 combat jets have all been accounted for, U.S.-based Foreign Policy magazine said, citing U.S. officials, refuting claims of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that it had shot down one of the jets in the February standoff.