In less than a week’s time, the Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended a second Pakistani boat off the Kutch coast in Gujarat on Wednesday and apprehended nine people on board.
The first such seizure of a Pakistani boat was done on Sunday in which BSF personnel arrested the same number of people.
“The patrolling party of the BSF in creek area of Bhuj (Gujarat) noticed a boat fishing in Indian waters. BSF personnel challenged the people on-board and finally caught them. The place of apprehension is in Chouhan Nala near G-43 pillars,” said BSF sources in Gujarat adding that the nine Pakistani nationals apprehended from the boat were being questioned. Other than fishing implements nothing objectionable was recovered, said the statement.
With India-Pakistan relations in a flux, the security agency is not taking any chances. Sources in the agency said that detailed interrogation would reveal the real intent as the boat appeared to be relatively smaller in size than is require for 8-9 people to fish in, especially so far away from home.
The Chouhan Nala is near the disputed Sir Creek area in Kutch district. An officer by name Girish had given his initial ‘G’ to these pillars, originally erected as border pillars between then British time Bombay Province and Sindh Province. Despite multiple wars, Pakistan continues to raise dispute over the boundary laid down by these pillars in the Sir Creek area.
Post India’s surgical strike on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, the marine security apparatus along Western part of the Indian coast has been on alert, with Coast Guard, Navy and coastal marine unit of Gujarat Government, having intensified surveillance along the 1600-km Gujarat coastline. Several ships and aircraft have already been deployed by Indian security agencies along the region.
The Indian fishermen, who generally venture out till international maritime boundary, too have been advised to keep at least 15 nautical miles inside the international boundary. They have also been requested to inform security agencies of any suspicious movement. The Pakistani agencies have in the past kidnapped several Indian fishermen from this region. Moreover, this coast has fluid boundary at places, including contentious Sir Creek region. Other than Central marine security agencies, state government's Marine Police near Jakhau region too has been put on high alert to closely monitor boundary near Koteshwar, Khavda and Haji Pir area, among others.