India sends home 43 Pakistani nationals

INDIA: India sent home 43 Pakistani nationals who were lodged in Indian prisons for many years on charges of overstaying or straying across the border, an immigration official said.

The group of 43 nationals were handed over to Pakistani officials at the land crossing at Wagah in the northern Indian state of Punjab.

Most of those sent home had already completed the sentences awarded by Indian courts, the official said. None of the prisoners could be repatriated sooner because of bureaucratic delays in the confirmation of their identities from Islamabad, said the official who wished to remain unnamed.

Many prisoners, despite having served their sentences and having their nationalities confirmed, remain in prison due to “animosity and lack of mutual trust” between the two sides, an Indian official said.

Amritsar, Sunday, AFP