20 North Andhra fishermen released from Pakistan to reach Vizag

Twenty fishermen from North Andhra, who were released from a Pakistan jail, will be flown to Vizag on Tuesday night. After spending fourteen months in prison, the men were handed over to the Indian authorities, on 6 January 2020. 

A delegation of the Andhra Pradesh State Government, led by Animal Husbandry & Fisheries Minister, Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, visited the Wagah border to receive them. Speaking to the media, the Minister said that he was happy about the release of the fishermen. He further added that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, had taken a personal interest in getting the fishermen freed. The Minister, accompanied by the group, will arrive in Vizag on the night of 7 January 2020. From there, they will be taken to their respective villages. 

A group of twenty-two fishermen, hailing from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and East Godavari Districts, had accidentally entered the Pakistan territorial waters, while fishing off the Gujarat coast, in November 2018. The Pakistan Coast Guard had caught the group. Since then, the fishermen were held at the Malir District Prison in Karachi. 

On 31 December, 2019, the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, that twenty North Andhra fishermen will be handed over to the Indian authorities. Two fishermen belonging to East Godavari District are still under arrest, as there is a delay in establishing their identities. The AP State Government has been taking measures to ensure the release of the duo.