18 Indian fishermen sent to jail on judicial remand

Eighteen Indian fishermen were sent to prison on judicial remand on Thursday. The fishermen appeared before a judicial magistrate of District West, who ordered sending them to prison on 14- day judicial remand.

Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) officials had caught them for allegedly violating the country’s territorial waters. The officials had also impounded two boats from the possession of the Indian citizens, who had been handed over to the Docks police.

Pakistan and India routinely arrest each other’s fishermen on charges of fishing in their territorial waters. On August 20, officials of the Indian Coast Guard apprehended nine Pakistani fishermen for crossing over to Indian waters on a boat. All the fishermen lived in Ali Akbar Shah Goth of Karachi’s Ibrahim Hyderi.

According to information reaching here from Gujarat, all the nine crew members of the boat, Al Ayesha, were led to Okha port before being handed over to the local marine police for questioning.

An Indian newspaper reported on its website that the ICG ship Meera Behn had noticed a Pakistani fishing boat in Indian waters while patrolling close to the International Maritime Boundary Line.

Al Ayesha was then chased and boarded by Meera Behn’s crew following which the fisherman were arrested for fishing illegally in Indian waters.

As a goodwill gesture on the occasion of independence days of India and Pakistan, the two countries had freed fishermen arrested at sea and serving long sentences in their prisons.

India released 14 Pakistani fishermen, including three boys, on August 7 and handed them over to Pakistani authorities at Wagah border. Pakistan released 26 Indian fishermen from Malir jail five days later, who were also handed over to Indian authorities at Wagah border.

Despite the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea being against the arrest of fishermen at sea, both India and Pakistan have been apprehending fishermen belonging to either country for violations of territorial limits. Pakistani fishermen are often arrested by the ICG at Sir Creek — a disputed territory between the two countries.