Imprisoned fishermen

Whenever relations between India and Pakistan turn sour, the wrath has been felt by innocent people. On the Line of Control, it is the people who live in the villages next to the border that have become the unwitting casualties of cross-border violations. And on the seas, it is fishermen who become the senseless prisoners of war in the battle of wits between the two countries.        The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum has recently highlighted the plight of Pakistani fishermen who are languishing in Indian prisons. According to PFF estimates, at least 130 Pakistani fishermen have been detained in India. Similar numbers of Indian fishermen could be in Pakistani custody. In October, India captured at least nine Pakistani fishers. In November, Pakistan arrested 43 Indian fishermen for allegedly crossing territorial waters. The last mutual releases of fishermen caught by both countries were in June this year. Since then, the hostile climate between the two countries has made such transfer of prisoners a diplomatic nightmare. Now Pakistan’s fishing community is protesting and calling for action to be taken to protect their people.

Instead of looking for a short-term solution, it is time both countries devised a way to ensure that communities that have nothing to do with the hostilities between the two countries do not become victims. Fishing communities on both sides of the territorial waters are merely trying to earn a living. These are among the most marginalised communities in either country – which means that there are no strong lobbies attempting to secure their release. This is no doubt one of the most ignored injustices in the conflict between India and Pakistan. Over the last five years, both countries have released around 2,000 arrested fishermen. Many more are still languishing in jails. Instead of frequent releases meant as ‘goodwill’ tokens, there need to be specific measures to resolve the unnecessary detention of fishermen on both sides of the Arabian Sea. This can begin with the establishment of a permanent committee with representatives from both countries to immediately decide what the fate of any arrested fishermen would be. Such a committee’s operation should not be determined by the state of relations between the two countries. Efforts to stop the detentions of fishermen need to be speeded up.