Lists of Civilian prisoners and fishermen exchanged between India and Pakistan
On January 1, 2020, India and Pakistan exchanged list of prisoners and fishermen. The countries exchange the information every year on 1st January and 1st July. They also exchanged nuclear installations alongside on the same day.
Highlights
Pakistan shared the lists of 227 fishermen and 55 civilian prisoners who are Indians or believed to be Indians. The lists were shared based on the provisions of 2008 agreement. Similarly, India shared lists of 99 Pakistani fishermen and 267 prisoners.
2008 Agreement
In 2008, India and Pakistan signed an agreement to allow consular access to prisoners in each countries. The Agreement was highlighted during the Kulbhushan Jadhav case in the International Court of Justice. According to the agreement, the provision of consular access should be provided to the person within three months of arrest. However, Mr Jadhav was denied of such acess.
Kulbhushan Jadhav
Pakistan has arrested Kulbhushan Jadhav in Balochistan saying he was an Indian Naval Officer. The Pak army court then sentenced him to death claiming him to be a spy of Indian Government. However, India declined the accusations and filed a case against death sentence at the International Court of Justice. According to India, Mr Jadhav retired from Navy in 2001 and was working in Iran. The ICJ has put the death sentence on hold.
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Month: Current Affairs - January, 2020