Pakistan released 218 Indian fishermen lodged in the jail in January this year. (Representational photo)
In a reciprocal gesture after Islamabad freed 218 Indian prisoners lodged in jails in Pakistan, India on Wednesday freed 39 Pakistani prisoners lodged in jails here.
"Thirty-nine Pakistani prisoners, comprising 21 civil prisoners and 18 fishermen, whose nationality has been confirmed by Pakistani authorities, are being repatriated to Pakistan via Attari/Wagah on March 1, 2017," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
"The Government of India attaches highest importance to addressing all humanitarian matters, including early release and repatriation of all eligible Indian civil prisoners and fishermen," it added.
Pakistan released over 218 Indian fishermen lodged in jails there in January this year.
Islamabad followed this up by releasing Chandi Babulal Chavan, an Indian soldier who had inadvertently crossed into Pakistani territory.
India-Pakistan bilateral relationship had dipped to a new low in 2016 with cross-border terror attacks on Indian targets.
Observers see a thaw in the relationship with the latest gestures on the part of New Delhi and Islamabad.
In January this year, Pakistan government repatriated the 218 fishermen through the border in Punjab.
All the prisoners had crossed over to India through the land transit route of Attari - Wagah (Pakistan side) border on the basis of 'Emergency Travel Certificates' issued by the Indian High Commission at Islamabad, a BSF spokesman had said.
The total number of Indian fishermen freed from Pakistani jails as "goodwill gesture" in December 2016 and January 2017 is 439, despite the chill in the bilateral ties.
The fishermen were arrested a year ago when their boasts slipped into Pakistan through territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. They were caught by the Pakistani coast guards on the charge of illegal fishing while violating its territorial waters.