Desk : India and Pakistan have exchanged lists of prisoners and fishermen lodged in each other’s custody as part of a routine diplomatic mechanism under the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access.
According to official data shared through diplomatic channels, Pakistan has provided India a list of around 250 Indian nationals currently held in its jails. This includes both civilian prisoners and fishermen who were detained for allegedly crossing maritime boundaries.
In response, India has shared a list of 439 Pakistani or believed-to-be-Pakistani prisoners lodged in Indian prisons, which includes civilian inmates as well as fishermen.
During the exchange, India has also urged Pakistan to expedite the release and repatriation of 188 Indian prisoners, including fishermen and civilians who have already completed their sentences. Indian authorities have stressed the need for humane treatment, timely consular access, and swift repatriation of detainees.
The prisoner list exchange is conducted twice a year—on January 1 and July 1—under the bilateral agreement signed in 2008, and is considered one of the few continuing diplomatic processes between the two countries despite strained relations.
Officials say the mechanism plays an important role in ensuring transparency and addressing humanitarian concerns related to cross-border detentions, especially of fishermen who often inadvertently cross maritime boundaries.