Pakistan has formally sought details of the persons detained by the Indian Coast Guard from a boat near Porbandar on Monday. Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit has written to the Ministry of External Affairs to give exact details of the persons and the number of boats with the proof that they are Pakistani nationals. Basit has also asked India that if those arrested are Pakistani nationals, then why New Delhi has not conveyed this to Islamabad through diplomatic channels.
Pakistani Press Attache Manzoor Ali Memon told The Pioneer that there have been conflicting reports by the Coast Guard and Indian Navy about the number of boats and persons on it. The official said that so far Pakistan Government has not been conveyed anything officially by the India side on this issue.
"So far we have been hearing news only from the media. There have been no official communication to us about those apprehended. Also there have been conflicting statements by the Coast Guard and Indian Navy. One day they said there is one boat with four persons, next day they said there were two boats with eight persons. We do not know the exact position," said the official.
The official added that the Pakistani diplomats first want to establish the fact that those apprehended are their nationals. "We have also sought details from India. Once that is established then only we can talk about Counsular access to them," said the official. On Monday, a boat carrying 232 kg of narcotics with street value of Rs600 crore was seized and eight Pakistani crew onboard were arrested in a joint intelligence-based operation by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard from international waters off Gujarat coast on April 20.
The crew was later paraded before the media onboard ICG vessel 'Sangram', which intercepted and apprehended the boat, and packets of the seized contraband, satellite phones and GPS system were also displayed. Navy sources said an input about a second suspicious boat was also received. "However, when we searched the area, no such boat was found," they said.