Tuesday, August 30 2005 18:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Giving a boost to the ongoing composite dialogue process, India and Pakistan today (Aug 30, 2005) decided to release by September 12 all fishermen and civilian prisoners who have completed their sentence even as the two countries committed themselves to combating terrorism by taking effective steps for its 'complete elimination.'

In a joint statement issued after two days of intensive parleys at the Home Secretary level, both sides agreed to give necessary instructions to begin the exercise to set free the fishermen and civilian prisoners whose national status was confirmed.

Flanked by his Pakistani counterpart Syed Kamal Shah, Home Secretary V K Duggal, told a joint press conference that the two countries would provide immediate notification of the arrests made by either side and give consular access to all persons within three months of their being taken into custody as agreed by the Foreign Secretaries in December last year.

Reading out the seven-point joint statement, Duggal said the two sides also agreed that prisoners would be released by New Delhi and Islamabad immediately on completion of their sentence and nationality verification.

"We have also agreed to release on September 12, 2005,all fishermen and civilian prisoners who have completed their sentence and whose national status has been confirmed," Duggal said describing the talks as 'frank and forthright.'

On the issue of terrorism, the Home Secretary said both sides committed themselves "To combat terrorism and re-emphasised the need for effective steps for complete elimination of this menace."