'Missing' Kerala fisherman dies in Pakistan jail; body to be buried in Amritsar

Palakkad: A Kerala fisherman who was in the custody of the Pakistan Navy on suspicion of trespassing into its territorial waters reportedly passed away in jail.

The deceased Zulfiqar (48) from Kappur died in Karachi jail, according to police sources. 

The body of Zulfiqar will be received by his family in Amritsar; it won't be sent to Kerala. One of his brothers from abroad has arrived in Amritsar, and his remains will only be buried there. The Amritsar Collector received the mortal remains which were brought to Attara on the Punjab border on Monday. 

According to Zulfiqar's relatives, they haven't heard from him in the past five years. The family initially declined to obtain the body as they thought he might have connections to ISIS. However, when the family was informed by the authorities that a fisherman had passed away in a Pakistani prison, they agreed to receive his remains.

Abdul Hamid, Zulfiqar's father, claimed that his son last travelled to the country in 2017. There hasn't been any information about his location since then. Despite the fact that the Special Branch and Intelligence Bureau (IB) came to look into him, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has not yet arrived, according to Hamid.

"The Pakistan Maritime Security personnel arrested him for allegedly fishing in its territorial waters," the sources said. 

Earlier, the Pakistan government released 199 Indian fishermen who were detained for reportedly fishing illegally in Pakistani waters on Friday (May 12). The Pakistan officials had also confirmed the death of an Indian fisherman Zulfiqar, who died in a hospital in Karachi due to an illness.

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