ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has formally urged India to release and repatriate 97 Pakistani nationals who remain incarcerated in Indian prisons despite having fully completed their legal sentences.
The appeal was filed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday during the routine biannual swap of inmate data between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
According to the Foreign Office, the group of overstaying individuals consists of 64 civilian prisoners and 33 fishermen whose nationalities must be verified to facilitate an immediate return.
🚨BREAKING: Pakistan, India exchange prisoner lists through diplomatic channels. pic.twitter.com/otyrA8T4Rg
— The Daily CPEC (@TheDailyCPEC) July 1, 2026
The data transfer follows the guidelines of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, a bilateral treaty mandating that Islamabad and New Delhi share comprehensive custody records twice a year, specifically on January 1 and July 1.
The latest data exchanged between the two countries highlights the scale of cross-border detentions:
| Detaining Country | Total Prisoners Listed | Civilian Detainees | Detained Fishermen |
| Held by Pakistan | 250 Indian prisoners | 52 | 198 |
| Held by India | 439 Pakistani/suspected prisoners | 386 | 53 |
Alongside the formal lists, Islamabad pressed New Delhi to guarantee the basic safety, mental well-being, and security of all Pakistani detainees currently lodged across Indian penitentiaries.
The Foreign Office additionally demanded that Indian authorities grant “expeditious consular access” to individuals believed to be Pakistani citizens so that diplomatic teams can quickly confirm their identities and speed up the repatriation process.
The management of cross-border prisoners remains a deeply sensitive humanitarian crisis within the fractured diplomatic relationship. The Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners—originally formed in 2007 to look into inmate welfare—has been entirely frozen since 2013 due to heightened state tensions and India’s suspension of structured bilateral talks.
