Pak arrests 31 Indian fishermen

Islamabad, Feb 20 (PTI) Pakistan’s maritime authorities have arrested 31 Indian fishermen and seized five of their vessels for allegedly fishing in the country’s territorial waters, officials said on Sunday.

The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) said that it apprehended the intruding vessels on Friday during patrolling in the Pakistan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The PMSA said that one of its “ship apprehended five Indian fishing boats along with 31 crew.” The boats were towed to Karachi for further legal proceedings as per Pakistani Law and UN Convention on Law of the Sea, it said.

Pakistan and India regularly arrest fishermen from either side for violating the maritime boundary which is poorly marked at some points. Fishermen from Pakistan and India usually end up in jails after they are arrested for fishing illegally in each other’s territorial waters. According to the lists of prisoners exchanged by India and Pakistan at the start of this year, at least 628 Indian prisoners were held in Pakistan, including 51 civilians and 577 fishermen.

India also shared the list of 355 Pakistani prisoners in India, including 282 civilians and 73 fishermen. Fishermen from Pakistan and India usually end up in jails after they are arrested for fishing illegally in each other’s territorial waters. PTI SH