Indian security agencies need to take repeated incidents of abandoned Pakistani boats in Sir Creek area seriously. The reason behind that is since partition of unified India, the dispute lies in the interpretation of the maritime boundary line between India and Pakistan in the Sir Creek area. Before independence, Sir Creek area was part of Sindh Province of British India. In 1947, Sindh became a part of Pakistan. On that basis Pakistan laid claim to the entire Creek showing resolution of 1914 singed by two erstwhile princely States—then Government of Sindh and Rao Maharaj of Kutch.
India’s contention is it would support citing the thalweg doctrine in international law. The law states that river boundaries between two States may be, if the two States agree, divided by the mid-channel. Though Pakistan does not dispute the 1925 map, it maintains that the doctrine is not applicable in this case as it most commonly applies to non-tidal rivers and Sir Creek is a tidal estuary. India sticks to its position that the boundary lies mid-channel as depicted in another map drawn in 1925, and implemented by the installation of mid-channel pillars back in 1924.