LAHORE: India is set to release 11 Pakistani prisoners in a goodwill gesture today, Times of India reported. The move comes days after Nawaz Sharif exchanged greetings with Narendra Modi in Astana.
According to ToI, Pakistan had sought the release of the said prisoners since they had completed sentences handed to them by courts in India.
Earlier this month, India had released two Pakistani boys who had mistakenly crossed the border in Narowal sector.
Incidents of cross-border firing have become a norm since the last months of 2016 as tensions simmer between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir issue.
Following the Uri army base attack in September, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepped up a drive to ‘isolate’ Pakistan diplomatically.
In the days following the attack, India claimed to have conducted a cross-border ‘surgical strike’ against ‘launch pads of terror’ in Azad Jammu and Kashmir — a claim Pakistan strongly rejected.
Pakistan maintains that India has been attempting to divert the world’s attention away from atrocities committed by government forces in India-held Kashmir.
Tensions between the two countries soared recently as India approached the International Court of Justice to secure consular access for Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) in Pakistan over his involvement in espionage and terrorism.
