47 Indian fishermen held, eight boats seized

Karachi
Pakistani marine forces on Saturday arrested 47 Indian fishermen for allegedly violating territorial waters in the Arabian Sea, police said on Saturday.
The Maritime Security Agency also captured eight boats belonging to the fishermen, who it said had strayed into Pakistani waters. The fishermen were later handed over to police in Karachi.
“We have been given the custody of the 47 Indian fishermen who have been arrested from the sea for violating territorial waters,” Fida Hussain, a senior police official, told AFP.
“We will present these detainees to court for completion of the due legal procedure,” he said.
Such arrests are frequently carried out by both countries, as the maritime border in the Arabian Sea is poorly defined and many fishing boats lack the technology needed to be certain of their precise location.
The fishermen often languish in jail even after serving their term, as poor diplomatic ties between the two countries mean fulfilling official requirements can take a long time.
Pakistan released 172 Indian fishermen in February as “a goodwill gesture” but arrested 45 others last month.
A Pakistani jail official in Karachi told AFP that they already had 428 Indian inmates in custody before the fresh arrests on Saturday. Both countries also use the release of fishermen to express goodwill from time to time.
On March 30, Pakistan arrested 18 Indian fishermen and seized three boats on the same charges. Earlier that month, it returned 57 Indian fishing boats.
In February, the country had released 172 Indian fishermen and repatriated them via the Wagah border. Pakistan had freed another 40 Indian prisoners in November last year.