Nearly Two Dozen Pakistani Prisoners Expected to Return From India via Wagah
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: Nearly two dozen Pakistani nationals imprisoned in India are expected to be released and repatriated through the Attari-Wagah border on Saturday, August 29, as Islamabad continues diplomatic efforts to secure the return of Pakistani citizens held across the border.
Indian authorities are expected to transport the Pakistani nationals to the Attari border, where they will be handed over to Pakistani officials on the Wagah side, according to sources cited by Express Urdu.
The report attributes the expected repatriation to continuing efforts by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
Prisoners Expected to Cross Attari-Wagah Border
According to the report, Indian authorities are due to bring the prisoners to the border crossing on Saturday before formally transferring them to Pakistani officials.
The Attari-Wagah crossing, connecting India’s Punjab state with Pakistan’s Punjab province, has previously been used for the repatriation of prisoners and other citizens returning to their respective countries.
The exact number of people due to return has not been officially specified in the available report, which describes the group only as “nearly two dozen.”
For editorial accuracy, the figure should therefore not be converted into a precise number such as 22 or 23 unless authorities issue an official list.
Diplomatic Efforts Continue
Pakistani officials have been pursuing the release and repatriation of citizens detained in Indian prisons, according to the report.
The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has previously facilitated the return of Pakistani prisoners through the same land crossing.
In an earlier repatriation, Pakistani national Raqib Bilal, who had been imprisoned in India, was returned through the Attari-Wagah border. At the time, the Pakistan High Commission said it would continue efforts to secure the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners held in Indian jails.
The latest expected handover therefore forms part of a continuing consular process rather than an unprecedented arrangement.
Prisoner Repatriation Remains Humanitarian Issue
The detention and repatriation of nationals is a recurring humanitarian and diplomatic issue between Pakistan and India.
Prisoners may include civilians and fishermen who have crossed maritime or land boundaries, although the current Express report does not identify the nearly two dozen expected returnees as fishermen, nor does it provide details of their individual cases.
It would therefore be inaccurate to classify the entire group as fishermen without further confirmation.
Similarly, the report does not specify how long the individuals have been detained, the offences or circumstances that led to their imprisonment, or whether all had completed their sentences.
Those details would require confirmation from Pakistani or Indian authorities.
Handover Expected Saturday
The immediate focus is now on the planned handover at the Attari-Wagah crossing.
Indian authorities are expected to bring the Pakistani nationals to Attari before Pakistani officials receive them on their side of the border and facilitate their return home.
As of the latest available reporting, however, the handover was expected rather than confirmed as completed.
That distinction is important because the source report was published before the planned repatriation took place.
Any subsequent confirmation from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry or the Pakistan High Commission would establish the final number of returnees and whether all those scheduled for release successfully crossed the border.
The development comes amid continuing political tensions between Pakistan and India, but prisoner repatriations remain an area where consular and humanitarian mechanisms have continued to operate.
