198 fishermen freed from Pakistan Jail arrive in Gujarat's Vadodara

Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], May 16 : The first batch of 198 fishermen, who were freed from Pakistan jail last Thursday, arrived at Vadodara railway station in Gujarat, on Monday.

The released fishermen were received by Gujarat Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel, who welcomed them with garlands.

The returnees' faces were filled with glee after they returned to their native country.

"I was jailed in 2018. They [Pakistan officials] took me and put me inside prison. Today it feels like I got a new life," said Ahmed Khan, a fisherman and one of the returnees.

The fishermen crisscrossed to India from the Wagah Border and then were brought by train and all the arrangements for their return were made by State's Fisheries department.

Speaking to reporters, Nitin Sangwan, Director of the Fisheries Department said, "Pakistan has released the fishermen who were lodged in Pakistani jails for so many years. Out of those 198, a total of 182 fishermen were from Gujarat."

He said that all the released fishermen were brought back by the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Cabinet Minister Purushottam Rupala and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar.