Amritsar, Sept 9 – India on Tuesday repatriated 70 Pakistani nationals through the Attari-Wagah joint check post in Amritsar district, the first such release since the launch of Operation Sindoor earlier this year.
According to officials, the prisoners had completed their jail terms in states including Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana. Most of them were fishermen who had inadvertently crossed into Indian waters, while 19 others were from different backgrounds. Some had served terms in Ludhiana and Amritsar jails.
The prisoners were presented before immigration and customs officials at Attari-Wagah for verification before being handed over to Pakistan Rangers.
The repatriation comes four months after India carried out targeted strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. In the wake of the attack, India had suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, closed the integrated check post at Attari, and barred Pakistani nationals from visiting under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme.
On September 14 last year, India had repatriated 14 Pakistani prisoners. Tuesday’s release marks the largest single-day return since tensions escalated after the Pahalgam attack.
