Dawn
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04:28 Oct 14, 2025
• 42 battered Pakistanis reunite with their families at Edhi Centre • Six others still await government clearance in Lahore • Returnees say beatings, burn injuries and forced labour became routine after Pakistan-India conflict KARACHI: Some 42 of the 48 Pakistani fishermen released from Indian jails and handed over to Pakistani authorities through the Wagah Border reached Karachi on Monday after a long wait of over a month because of the uncertain situation in Lahore. There are still six of them awaiting government clearance in Lahore. The expected time of arrival of the fishermen reaching the city by road from Lahore, thanks to the Edhi Foundation, was 12 noon, though they reached the Edhi Centre at Kharadar after 2:30pm. Still, the media gathered there already felt like they knew each and every one of them, as they had heard so much about them from their family members waiting for them there since morning. What’s common is the story of the horrible torture they endured in custody after the May conflict betw...