Dhaka, (APP), Dec 27  Bangladesh and India have agreed to exchange prisoners being detained in the two neighbouring countries.As per the agreement, Bangladesh has taken initiative to bring back around 100 Bangladeshi nationals detained in different prisons in India on various charges.The move came after India had informed the government of having 136 Bangladeshi nationals imprisoned there for years. India also gave Bangladesh a list of the detained people.

The government investigated identities of the detained people on the list and confirmed 97 of them as Bangladesh-born, officials of the Foreign Ministry said in Dhaka Sunday.

After the confirmation, the Ministry of Home Affairs has requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deal with the matter and bring the people home immediately.

Sources said the government could bring back its nationals in exchange of Indian nationals detained in different jails in Bangladesh.

More than 50 Indian nationals, some of them are wanted in India, have been arrested and detained in Bangladesh over the years, added the sources.

Recently, Secretary on Home Affairs Abdus Sobhan Sikder visited India and held bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Gopal Krishna Pillai and discussed, among others, exchanging the prisoners held on various charges.

Both the secretaries signed three pre-treaties on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, exchanging prisoners and bilateral agreement on combating international terrorism, which would be ratified during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India next month.

According to the transfer of prisoners treaty, both the countries have agreed that Bangladesh nationals detained in Indian jails and Indian nationals detained in Bangladeshi jails could take the opportunity to serve their detention in jails of their respective countries.

The Home Secretary said the treaty has been signed so that the prisoners of both the countries could have social integration and meet their relatives by serving detention in their own countries.