As many as 14 Pakistani fishermen have been caught by the Indian Coast Guard from Indian Territory. A small boat — Gul Salam — entered into the Indian waters and travelled four nautical miles inside the Indian Territory, said a source in the Coast Guards.
The fishermen were brought to coastal Okha town in Jamnagar on Thursday morning and they are being interrogated, especially on how 14 fishermen could fit into a small boat and travel four nautical miles in the open sea.
The Coastal Guard personnel have seized Pakistani currency notes, fishing equipment, credit cards and mobile SIM cards from them. looking the size of the boat, the coast guards are trying to find that how 14 fishermen can accommodated themselves in the boat and ventured in open sea.
Meanwhile, secretary of National Fish Forum, Manish lodhari, informed that currently around 200 Pakistani fishermen and 100 Pakistani boats are in the possession of Indian Maritime Security personnel. “As many as 400 fishermen and 818 Indian boats are with Pakistani Marine Security Agency. Nearly a fortnight ago, 18 boats along with 110 fishermen were nabbed by Pakistani marine security personnel,” said lodhari.
According to lodhari, the issue of fishermen should be resolved in the interest of fishermen of both the neighbouring countries.
It is worth mentioning that at the time of swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi, Pakistan released 151 fishermen from Karachi jail. In the reciprocal gesture India also released 32 Pakistani fishermen from Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) in Bhuj during May and June this year.