Pakistan and Sri Lanka release hundreds of Indian prisoners in 'goodwill gesture' Sunday May 25,2014

In goodwill gestures on the eve of the swearing-in of prime minister-designate Narendra Modi, Pakistan on Sunday freed 151 Indian prisoners, while Sri Lanka ordered the release of all detained Indian fishermen.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who will be among eight foreign leaders attending the oath-taking ceremony on Monday, ordered the release of 151 Indian prisoners and 57 fishing boats.

Fifty-nine prisoners were freed from Malir Jail in Karachi and 92 from Nara Jail in Hyderabad and sent in buses to Lahore, where they will cross over to the Indian side at the Wagah border crossing on Monday May 26,2014 

Pakistani officials said 521 Pakistani prisoners, including 168 fishermen, were currently in Indian jails and expressed the hope that they would be released soon.

Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency frequently arrests Indian fishermen on charges of illegally entering their territorial waters.

The release of fishermen by both sides has picked up pace following the formation of the Joint Judicial Committee on Prisoners in 2007.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who will attend the swearing-in, ordered the release of all Indian fishermen in custody in his country as a goodwill measure ahead of his visit to New Delhi, a presidential spokesman said.

This is the second instance of Sri Lanka freeing Indian fishermen arrested for poaching.

In March 2014, Rajapaksa had ordered the release of fishermen after India abstained from voting on an anti-Sri Lanka motion at the UN Human Rights Council