NEW DELHI, April 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Altogether 156 Pakistani fishermen languishing in jails in Jamnagar and Kutch districts in Gujarat state left for homes on Sunday by a train from Ahmedabad after they were released by Indian authorities.

    This step comes in the backdrop of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's three-day visit to India as part of confidence-building measures.

    These fishermen will be escorted upto the Indo-Pak border and handed over to officials across the border at Wagah, the Press Trust of India quoted Jamnagar district superintendent of police Manoj Shashidhar as saying.

    One of the fishermen, 40-year old Ahmetullah, who was caught byIndian coast guard in 2002, said, "I feel happy to go home as a free man after 18 months. My family comprising two children, a wife and aged parents await me eagerly." Enditem