Justice Markandey Katju welcomes the decision of Pakistan to release 151 Indian fishermen

New Delhi. Chairman of Press Council of India and former Justice of the Supreme Court of India Justice Markandey Katju has welcomed the decision of Pakistan to release 151 Indian fishermen in Pakistani jails.

On his Facebook page, Justice Katju wrote,

“The decision of Pakistan to release 151 Indian fishermen in Pakistani jails and 57 Indian boats should be appreciated. The Indian government should also consider releasing Pakistani fishermen in Indian jails.

These fishermen are usually poor people, who do fishing for a livelihood. They are arrested and jailed, often for several years, for allegedly straying into the other country's territorial waters. The problem is that there is no clear-cut borderline on the Arabian Sea or technology which can indicate where one country's sea border ends. Consequently, a fisherman can inadvertantly cross over the invisible border.”

Justice Katju wrote,

“In my opinion a humanitarian view should be taken in these matters as most of such people are poor persons who may have innocently made a mistake.”