About 74 missing defence personnel believed to be in Pakistani jails: Govt

There are 74 missing defence personnel, including 54 prisoners of war, believed to be in Pakistani jails, the government has said.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha yesterday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the government has repeatedly taken up the matter with the Pakistan government through diplomatic channels and during high-level contacts for the release of Indian PoWs believed to be in Pakistan.

However, Pakistan does not acknowledge the presence of any Indian PoW in its custody, she added.

Replying to a separate question, she said there were 301 fishermen, who are believed to be Indians in Pakistan’s custody.

As per available information, there are around 897 boats belonging to Indian fishermen in Pakistan’s custody, the minister said. As many as 55 Pakistani fishermen and 287 Pakistani civil prisoners were in India’s custody as of January 1, 2017, she added.