Last month, another Indian fisherman incarcerated in Pakistan died while waiting to be repatriated. A young man in his thirties. Why he was held in the first place makes no sense to me, and to a lot of other people. India and Pakistan routinely detain each others fisherfolk. In doing so, they defy international law, deny the incarcerated men consular access in violation of their own laws, hold them in prison for months if not years (a costly enterprise), then take months to verify the identities of those who have served their terms, so that they remain imprisoned even after completing their sentences. I asked my friend Jatin Desai in Mumbai to write about this for Sapan News, the syndicated features I started a couple of years ago. We ended up doing the piece together. I’m sharing our article below, published in Sapan News, as well as in several other publications. Still relevant, and urgent for the authorities to take up. Please share widely.
The suffering continues: No relief in sight for Indian, Pakistani fishermen
Another Indian fisherman died while in detention in Pakistan. Such deaths in custody routinely take place on either side. Pakistan and India routinely arrest and imprison each others’ fisherfolk for crossing an invisible maritime border. This should not be happening. Meanwhile, both countries must urgently at least revive the Joint Judicial Committee for cross-border prisoners
By Jatin Desai and Beena Sarwar
If 99 Indian fishermen incarcerated in Pakistani prisons had been repatriated last month as agreed, Jagdish Mangal might still be alive.
Mangal was among the several Indian fishermen arrested by Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency in February 2020 and detained in Malir prison, Karachi. He was 35 years old from Nana Vada, Gujarat.
Pakistan was to repatriate 99 Indian fishermen on 3 July, but this never happened for unexplained reasons. Mangal died on August 6 of ‘natural causes’ according to the medical certificate.
Continue readingFiled under: Pakistan-India, prisoners | Tagged: death in custody, Edhi Foundation, Fisherfolk, fisherman died, Fishermen arrested, gujarat, India, jagdish mangal, Joint Judicial Committee, Karachi jail, Pakistan, Soma Baraiya | Leave a comment »
Journeys to democracy 