Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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Spokesperson Briefings

Date: 03/07/2006

Record of Press Briefing held on 03 July 2006

Opening Statement

Pakistan-India Exchange of Civilian Prisoners and Fishermen

There have been comments and media reports to the effect that Pakistan had not fulfilled its commitment with regard to the understanding with India on the release of civilian prisoners and fishermen. The factual position is that it was Pakistan 's proposal to include release of civilian prisoners and fishermen in the agenda for Interior/Home Secretary-level talks on Terrorism and Drugs Trafficking under the Third Round of the Composite Dialogue held in Islamabad from May 30-31, 2006 .

According to the agreement reached, which is reflected in the Joint Statement issued at the conclusion of the Interior/Home Secretary-level talks in Islamabad all those civilian prisoners and fishermen in jails in India and Pakistan who fulfilled the following three conditions would be released on June 30, 2006 .

• Have completed their prison sentences;

• Have been provided consular access; and

• Their national status has been confirmed.

Based on the above criteria, an exchange of prisoners took place. India released 38 Pakistani civilian prisoners on June 30, while Pakistan released 19 Indian civilian prisoners on June 30 and 20 fishermen on July 1, 2006 (a total of 39).

Since 2003, Pakistan has released a total of 2452 Indians (208 civilian prisoners and 2244 fishermen), while India has only released 659 Pakistanis (299 civilian prisoners and 360 fishermen).

Question/Answer Session

- When asked to elaborate on the civilian prisoners and fishermen issue and whether Pakistan ever discussed this issue with the Indian Government, the spokesperson said:

This is a humanitarian issue and we have always emphasized the need to have an arrangement for the early release of prisoners. People who cross borders inadvertently or are involved in minor immigration law violations should be treated humanely and released at the earliest possible. We are aware of the fact that the process takes long and we will continue to make efforts to reduce the time involved.

To a related query, the spokesperson told that the total number of prisoners who were still in Indian Jails was approximately 500. She promised to put the details on the website.

- In response to another question of fishermen, the spokesperson said:

We reached an agreement which was reflected in para 5 of the Joint Statement by Interior / Home Secretaries. The crossing by fishermen is not by mistake in most of the cases. This is an economic issue as well. Fishermen come to catch fish and we have to deter them. If you look at the figures, 90 per cent of Indian fishermen are fishermen. We have 30 Pakistani fishermen in Indian jails at the moment. We requested consular access to determine their national status. We haven't got it as yet.

Of course, we have to have the same principles for prisoners from both sides.

- When her attention was drawn to the fact that a high number of Pakistanis who were released from Indian jails had lost their mental balance. They become mentally retarded because of torture and inhuman treatment, the spokesperson said:

We are aware of reports that prisoners come back, I will not use the word mentally but physically or mentally challenged. These people end up in Indian jails mostly for minor offences like immigration law violations or inadvertently crossing the border. They deserve to be treated humanely. We have repeatedly emphasized this fact.

- To a question regarding term of imprisonment and nature of punishment for fishermen, the spokesperson said:

I am not aware of the details. May be they are detained for a while. In any case, we do not mistreat prisoners. We don't do that.

- To yet another question about the exchange of prisoners, the spokesperson said:

I have given you the numbers. I have read to you the terms of agreement. I also gave you the number of prisoners released from either side. Just compare the number of prisoners released by us and number of prisoners released by India .

- Asked whether there was a visit programme of the Indian Prime Minister to Pakistan in June 2006 and if she could give a time schedule, the spokesperson said:

First of all, I want to clarify once again that we had no intimation about the visit in June, in July, about the visit in August. These are speculations. There was an invitation which was accepted by the Indian Prime Minister. We do not have any dates for this visit. But one thing I can say with certainty is that the visit will take place sometime.

- When asked to comment on the hindrance in the way of tangible results of the talks between India and Pakistan and assessment of the 3 rd round, the spokesperson said:

Of course we are very keen to see tangible results. We are very keen to move forward in the bilateral dialogue process and we want it to be result oriented. We believe the Indian leadership is equally keen to see some tangible results. As far as I know, the Foreign Secretaries are scheduled for a meeting on 20 July. They will review and assess the third round of Composite Dialogue. I do not want to assess it now.

- Asked about those possible stringent measures Pakistan was proposing in the F-16 deal to ensure that like last time the US did not revoke the deal, the spokesperson said:

I am sure you have seen the statements by the US leadership and the statements by State Department. The Administration has assured us that they are committed to this deal. They are very conscious of the fact that this is a legitimate defence requirement of Pakistan and they are doing everything to make it possible. The Administrations has already formally notified the Congress. This is the mandatory 30-day notice. The deal would be considered approved by the Congress at the expiry of 30-day period. We understand that a public hearing has been scheduled and Under-Secretary Burns will brief the Congress about it.

- Asked whether Pakistan was going to have the possibility of legal measures in case the backed out of the F-16 deal, the spokesperson said:

The possibility of legal option is always there. It was available to Pakistan last time as well. We did not use it but the option was there.

- In response to a question about the cancellation of invitation to the Speaker of NWFP Assembly by the US Consulate in Peshawar , the spokesperson said:

We have seen media reports but we have not been told about the NWFP Government. Either the invitation or its recall was not done through the Foreign Office.

- When asked to elaborate the steps taken by the Government of Pakistan for the release of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay , the spokesperson said:

We have all along been in touch with US authorities on this issue. We have raised it at the highest level. In 2002, our Secretary Interior along with Foreign Office officials visited Guantanamo Bay . They interviewed all the prisoners who were identified by the US authorities as Pakistanis. They checked their living conditions, the kind of food they were given, medical services and whether they had freedom to pray. They spoke to all the prisoners individually and confirmed their national status. Subsequently, most of them were released. But as more detainees from Afghanistan continued to be transferred to Guantanamo Bay , this number kept changing. Now, the US authorities have confirmed to us that there are six Pakistanis. The Ministry of Interior is putting together a team to visit Guantanamo very shortly to determine their national status. We hope that these people will be released soon.

- When her comments were sought on the reports that Pakistani side has not cleared the list of IOK traders for trade between the two sides of Kashmir , the spokesperson said:

We are very eager to see Kashmiris on both sides of LoC should be able to have trade. The President of Pakistan has repeatedly stated that Kashmiris to be able to meet each other, to be able to trade each other. We have agreed to a truck service. We have agreed to the understanding that Kashmiris should be able to trade with each other and we are fully committed to it. I would have to check the status of the traders list. This was to be done by Azad Kashmir authorities. This is the local matter and I am not aware of the factual position whether the list is pending on this side or that side. I will have to find out.

- When her attention was drawn to the possibility that unlike the first two rounds, the third round of the composite dialogue between Pakistan and India might end without a meeting between the political leadership on both sides, signaling failure to move in any tangible direction and this could lead to breakdown of the talks themselves, the spokesperson observed:

Pakistan was ready for the meeting between the two Foreign Ministers. You would have seen the Foreign Minister's statement in this context. In the past, the Foreign Ministers' meeting signaled the completion of the third round. We would be keen to hold this meeting.

- Asked if the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had made any commitment for additional security assistance to Pakistan during her recent visit, the spokesperson said:

The Bush administration has already sought Congressional approval for $738 million. Out of this, $300 million is in Foreign Military Financing for Pakistan .