Pakistan arrests 17 Indian fishermen, seizes three boats; claims they were fishing in its territorial waters

Karachi: Seventeen Indian fishermen have been arrested for allegedly illegally fishing in Pakistani waters and a court in Karachi remanded them into custody on Saturday. A police official at the docks police station has said the Indian nationals appeared before a magistrate who sent them to jail on remand. “These fishermen were handed over to us by the Maritime Security last night for further legal process,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_3408462” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] He said most of the fishermen belonged to Gujarat. The 17 Indian fishermen were arrested for fishing in Pakistan’s territorial waters, according to the Maritime Security Force. “They were fishing in the Arabian Sea in our territory and they were detained and their three boats seized,” he said. The arrests come after the release of 145 Indian fishermen on 28 December. An official of the Pakistan Maritime Security Force said that since late November the number of Indian fishermen detained for fishing in Pakistani waters was around 185. A total of 438 Indian fishermen were released in 12 days time in December 2016-January 2017 by the Pakistani authorities from the Landhi and Malir jails in Karachi. Pakistan and India frequently arrest fishermen as there is no clear demarcation of the maritime border in the Arabian Sea and these fishermen do not have boats equipped with the technology to know their precise location.