The personnel of Pakistan Marine Security Agency (PSMA) did it again. This time they abducted 38 innocent Indian fishermen along with their seven boats from Gulf of Kutch. Confirming the yet another incident of abduction of Indian fishermen from International maritime boundary off Jakhau coast in bordering Kutch district, Manish lodhari General Secretary of National Fish Workers’ Union said that when fishermen were near International Border for a better catch, the PSMA personnel abducted them.
lodhari informed that of the seven boats captured by PSMA, five belong to Porbander and two from Okha port in Jamnagar district. “The PSMA personnel have taken all the 38 fishermen along with their boats to Karachi port,” he added. This is second of its kind incident in the beginning of year 2015, as PSMA abducted 12 fishermen along with their two boats in the first week of January.
When the new BJP-led NDA Government was formed after the results of the General Elections in India in May 2014, the Pakistan Government had shown a friendly gesture and released 50 Indian fishermen. However, PMSA started abducting innocent Indian fishermen again. According to lodhari, the issue of boats in Pakistan’s custody should be raised at higher level apart from unnecessary harassment of the PSMA personnel.
The PMSA has seized more than 800 Indian boats worth more than Rs300 crore in last one and half decades. Time to time, Pakistan Government releases on-board fishermen, who were abducted from high-seas by PMSA officials from Pakistani jail but they have never returned their boats. As a result of it, those fishermen, who came back from Pakistani prisons, are literally jobless.
PMSA is not returning the Indian boats and as result of it, many families of fishermen, especially from Gujarat have faced heavy economic loss. Of the total captured boats by PSMA, more than 60 per cent boats belong to Porbander.