Palakkad: A Kerala fisherman held by the Pakistan Navy on the charge of trespassing into its territorial waters reportedly died in jail there.
Zulfiqar (48) from Kappur died in Karachi jail, police sources said.
The Union Home Ministry has directed the State Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to initiate immediate measures to facilitate the deceased’s relatives receiving the body at Attara on the Punjab border on Monday itself.
"The Pakistan Maritime Security personnel arrested him for allegedly fishing in its territorial waters," the sources said.
Meanwhile, agencies, including the NIA (National Investigation Agency), are probing Zulfiqar's past; he was in Dubai for years altogether, they added.
Recently, Pakistan had said it shall release 199 Indian fishermen who were arrested for allegedly fishing illegally in the country's territorial waters. Currently, these fishermen are lodged at the Landhi jail.
Meantime, according to another recent report, a person named Zulfiqar had died in a hospital in Karachi due to illness on May 6.
"Officials at Landhi jail said the Indian prisoner had complained of high fever and chest problems; his condition deteriorated last week so he was sent to the hospital where he passed away due to apparent lung infection,” the report quoted a senior police official.
PTI had reported that a total of 654 Indian fishermen are languishing in Karachi prisons while an estimated 83 Pakistani fishermen are in Indian jails. Out of the 654 Indian fishermen, 631 have completed their sentences and are awaiting repatriation.
