Hugs and sweets as freed Indian and Pakistani prisoners cross border

Tuesday (AFP) Prisoners freed from jails in India and Pakistan returned home to be greeted with hugs and garlands from relatives and friends as the two countries exchanged more than 500 convicts as part of their peace process.

Border officials at the Wagah post, the only land crossing between the South Asian rivals, extended the closing time by several hours to accommodate the numbers being repatriated.

By late afternoon, more than 200 freed prisoners had crossed into India while 148 Pakistanis had been repatriated, border guards said, adding the lengthy clearance procedures for the remainder were expected to continue into the night.

India last week announced it was setting free 152 Pakistani civilian prisoners while Pakistan said it would release 371 Indian fishermen held for illegally fishing in its waters.

Wasim Sajjad, interior affairs minister for Pakistan's Punjab province who crossed into India at Wagah briefly to address waiting reporters, said however: "Pakistan will release 435 Indians today."

He did not specify who the other prisoners were. The move "would bridge the gap between India and Pakistan as it will create a more cordial atmosphere between two nations," Sajjad said. The exchange follows an agreement between the two countries' home secretaries (senior interior ministry officials) in New Delhi on August 30, that all prisoners who have served their sentences should be freed.

Many prisoners remain locked up despite having completed their sentences due to "animosity and lack of mutual trust" between the two sides, an Indian official has said.

On the Pakistani side, family members and friends celebrated the releases with the beating of drums while Indians arriving from across the border were garlanded and fed traditional sweets.