218 Indian fishermen freed by Pakistan

TIL Desk/National/Una/ In an irony of fate, an Indian fisherman died of heart attack in a Karachi jail hours before he was to be released, along with 218 others, by Pakistan as a “goodwill gesture”, according to Gujarat Fishermen Association.

Jeeva Bhagwan, 37, whose name was on the list of 219 fishermen released on Thursday, hailed from Khan village in Una tehsil of Gir Somnath district of Gujarat, Veljibhai Masani, senior vice president of Gujarat Fishermen Association, said. He died of heart attack yesterday, Masani told.

The fishermen were freed from Malir jail on instructions from the Interior Ministry as a goodwill gesture, jail superintendent Hasan Sehto said. With the release of the fishermen on Thursday, the total number of Indian fishermen freed from Pakistani jails as “goodwill gesture” in the last 10 days reached 439, despite the chill in bilateral ties.

This is the second batch of Indian fishermen released from Pakistan jails since relations between the two countries became tense after the terror attack on an Indian army base in Uri in September for which India has blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit.