The Hindu : Pak. urged to release Indian fishermen

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 01, 2003

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Pak. urged to release Indian fishermen

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI Jan. 31. India today called on Pakistan to release 400 Indian fishermen and a number of civilian prisoners in its custody even as Bangladesh was handed over an aide memoire to stop illegal immigration.

According to sources, Pakistan has spoken six times of its intention to release the fishermen but so far nothing had come out of these statements.

This was conveyed by the Director (Pakistan) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Ruchi Ghanashyam, to a Pakistani Counsellor, Aman Rashid, today.

India was particularly interested in the release of 22 Sikh youths who were now in Pakistani custody (in Quetta) after being pushed out of Turkey.

Consular access had been extended to six of these Sikhs, but similar access to others was awaited.

In a demarche to Dhaka, the Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Shahadat Hussain, was called in to the Foreign Office and told of India's concerns about the issue of illegal immigration. He was presented with an aide memoire.

Mr. Hussain was told that Bangladesh should recognise the gravity of the problem and cooperate with India in dealing with the issue. India had raised these concerns with Dhaka during a recent meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the two countries.

``The Bangladesh Government needs to recognise the gravity of the situation and address it in a pragmatic manner with sincerity and in a spirit of cooperation,'' the Foreign Office spokesman said.

Denying charges levelled by Dhaka, he said there was no question of India pushing any of its citizens into Bangladesh. "Any such allegation or the implication of such allegations is baseless. It is absurd.''

Tension on Bangla border

PTI reports from Siliguri:

Tension prevailed along the Indo-Bangladesh border in the Mathabhanga sub-division of Coochbehar district when Bangladesh Rifles personnel tried to push 213 of their citizens across the border today and the BSF personnel resisted the bid.

The BSF prevented the people, whom the BDR termed as Indian infiltrators, along the zero line at Satgachi outpost. Both the BSF and the BDR had taken position on either side with the people, including 80 children and 68 women, stranded along the zero line inside India.

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