Pakistan is to release 51 Indian prisoners on humanitarian grounds as a goodwill gesture, dpa quoted the government as saying Friday. The Indian prisoners being freed are fishermen and they have already served their sentences, according to a statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso. "The prime minister expressed the hope that the Indian government will reciprocate the gesture and release the Pakistani prisoners incarcerated in Indian jails," the statement said. Khoso asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs "to initiate dialogue with India" for the repatriation of its citizens, and secure the release of Pakistanis. India is holding 496 Pakistani nationals in its prisons, and there are 482 Indian citizens in Pakistani prisons, the statement said.
