577 Indian fishermen in Pakistan's custody, govt tells Lok Sabha
New Delhi(PTI): As many as 577 Indian fishermen are in the custody of Pakistan and India has been consistently raising the incidents of their detention and the capture of fishing boats by the neighbouring country, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said according to the India-Pakistan "Agreement on Consular Access" signed on May 21, 2008, lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen of each country, lodged in the jails of the other, are exchanged on January 1 and July 1 every year.
"According to the lists exchanged on January 1, 2022, Pakistan has acknowledged the custody of 577 fishermen who are Indian or are believed to be Indian," he said during the Question Hour.
Besides, the minister said, according to government records, 1,164 Indian fishing boats are also believed to be in Pakistan's custody. However, the neighbouring country has not acknowledged the custody of the boats.
He said incidents of apprehension of Indian fishermen and their boats by Pakistani authorities are consistently raised with the neighbouring country and it is conveyed that the issue may be considered on purely humanitarian and livelihood grounds.
All possible assistance, including legal help, is extended to the fishermen for their early release and repatriation, along with the release of their boats. As a result of the sustained efforts by the government, 2,140 Indian fishermen and 57 Indian fishing boats have been repatriated from Pakistan since 2014, Muraleedharan said.
He said the government attaches the highest priority to the safety, security and welfare of Indian fishermen.
As soon as cases of apprehension of Indian fishermen and their fishing boats are reported, immediate steps are taken by Indian missions and posts to seek consular access, ensure their welfare and also pursue their early release and repatriation, along with their boats, the minister informed.
Given the humanitarian and livelihood dimensions of the issue, the government has put in place several bilateral mechanisms to ensure cooperation and understanding with the countries concerned to promote the safety and security of Indian fishermen, he said.
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Raj Thackeray questions need for NEET, demands Pradhan’s resignation
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Thursday questioned the need for NEET-UG and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi seek the resignation of Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan.
Thackeray's demand comes amid massive protests over the cancellation of the examination following allegations of paper leak.
The MNS chief said the government is so “obsessed” with bringing everything under a centralised authority that it appears to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into “disarray”.
In a post on X, Thackeray said that for several years now, a single individual (Pradhan) has remained entrenched in the position of Union education minister. Despite numerous “irregularities” and “scandals” within the NEET framework during his tenure, this “gentleman” continues to occupy the post, he said.
“One wonders: has he been rewarded with this continued tenure because he is so zealously pursuing the agenda of imposing the Hindi language across the entire nation? I earnestly appeal to the Prime Minister: please demand the immediate resignation of this Minister of yours, who has repeatedly toyed with the lives and future of 22 lakh students,” Thackeray said.
The National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”. The examination for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges will now be held afresh on dates to be notified separately.
Thackeray said the Centre continues its tradition of creating “chaos” in every matter and holding the public to ransom. The “NEET paper leak” has proved this once again, he said.
Thackeray sought to know what the Centre did when it found out the alleged malpractice. It merely cancelled the examination and ordered a CBI inquiry, he said.
In 2024, a CBI inquiry was ordered in a similar case, but nothing substantial was achieved through it, he said.
The government projects an air of having fulfilled its duty in all of this. But what about the lives of 22 lakh students and their families, who have been left hanging in the balance, he asked.
Thackeray said fundamentally, there was no need to “impose” NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test)-UG back in 2016.
“However, this government’s obsession with bringing everything under a single, centralised authority is so intense that, to them, it seems to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into disarray,” he said.
The MNS chief also asked ministers within the Maharashtra government to show some “spine” and join voices with those of the southern states and oppose this system.
Thackeray said leaders from the southern states have voiced their opposition in much the same way as he. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has also demanded the cancellation of NEET. The reason for this is that the five southern states, combined with Maharashtra, collectively possess over 350 medical colleges, whereas the large states in the north have only 180 medical colleges, he said.
Consequently, this persistent push that began in 2016 is essentially an attempt to facilitate the “entry of students from the north into medical colleges in the south”, alleged Thackeray. To ensure this, the largest network of coaching classes has been established in the northern states, he claimed.
