ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday approved the humanitarian proposals received from the Indian side regarding the civilian prisoners incarcerated in both India and Pakistan.
According to a press release issued by Foreign Office (FO), “The Foreign Ministerhas approved the humanitarian proposals, which had been received from the Indian side, regarding the civilian prisoners incarcerated in both the countries.”
The proposals from India that have been approved by Pakistan include:
i. Exchange of three categories of prisoners, women, mentally challenged or with special needs and those above 70 years of age.
ii. Revival of the Judicial Committee mechanism.
iii. Facilitating the visit of medical experts (from both sides) to meet and examine the mentally challenged prisoners for their repatriation.
The foreign minister also forwarded his humanitarian proposals in exchange on behalf of Pakistan. These are:
a) Exchange of prisoners above 60 years of age.
b) Exchange of child prisoners, below 18 years of age.
FO added that Asif expressed the hope that “India would positively reciprocate Pakistan s proposals in the spirit that they have been made”.
It was his desire that through such initiatives, Pakistan and India would embark on the road to a comprehensive dialogue, and make a conscious effort to de-escalate the extremely vitiated current environment and the situation on the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, Asif told.
