Pak to release 101 Indian prisoners

Pakistan today said it would release 101 Indian prisoners, a majority of them fishermen, as a goodwill gesture ahead of a meeting between the interior secretaries of the two countries later this week. Interior ministry chief Rehman Malik said 99 Indian fishermen and two other prisoners would be freed before the meeting of Pakistan's interior secretary and India's home secretary here on November 25.

Malik also said that Pakistan expected India to reciprocate the goodwill gesture. There are hundreds of Pakistanis languishing in Indian prisons and they should be freed at the earliest, he said.

Leading Pakistani rights activist Ansar Burney told PTI that he had been informed by officials that the Indian prisoners were likely to be freed tomorrow or the day after. He said the two Indian prisoners being released had completed their prison terms.

"There are many other Indian prisoners who have completed their sentences but are still in jail. I have also taken up their case with the authorities," he said.

During their day-long meeting, Pakistan's interior secretary and India's home secretary are expected to discuss measures for countering terrorism and drug trafficking and liberalising the visa regime between the two countries. The two sides are also expected to take up the exchange of civilian prisoners, human trafficking, illegal immigration and measures to counter counterfeit currency, sources said.

The talks will be part of the fifth round of the composite dialogue launched by India and Pakistan four years ago.