Eighty fishermen released from Pakistan jail arrive in Gujarat, reunited with kin for Diwali

The fishermen were released by Pakistani authorities on Thursday and were handed over to a team of the state's fisheries department at the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab the next day, an official release said.

Ahmedabad:Eighty fishermen released from a jail in Karachi in Pakistan reached Vadodara in Gujarat by train on Sunday, from where they were taken to Veraval in the state's Gir Somnath district by bus to be reunited with their families for Diwali, an official said.

The fishermen were released by Pakistani authorities on Thursday and were handed over to a team of the state's fisheries department at the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab the next day, an official release said. They had left the Gujarat coast at regular intervals in 2020 and were held by the maritime forces of Pakistan for allegedly fishing in that country's waters.

Of the 80 fishermen who have been released, 59 are from Gir Somnath district, 15 from Devbhoomi Dwarka, two from Jamnagar, one from Amreli, all in Gujarat, while three are from the Union Territory of Diu, the release said.

"All of them were caught in 2020. About 200 fishermen are still languishing in Pakistani jails. The freed fishermen will be able to celebrate Diwali with their families," said the release. In May and June this year, the Pakistan government had released nearly 400 Indian fishermen.