AHMEDABAD: In the fifth such incident in two months, the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency has apprehended 10 Indian fishing boats and 60 fishermen near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
National Fisheries Forum’s executive committee member Manish Lodhari said he received information on Tuesday that 10 fishing boats with 60 crew members were taken away by Pakistani authorities to Karachi port.In just one-and-a half months, the PMSA has apprehended more than 80 Indian fishermen who were fishing near the IMBL. Around 800 Indian fishermen are in Pakistani jails and more than 1,200 seized boats are lying at their ports. “The Indian government should discuss for an early release of these fishermen with Pakistan,” Lodhari said.
Meanwhile, Congress MP from Gujarat Shaktisinh Gohil gave a zero-hour notice in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to discuss the issue of fishermen from Gujarat and their boats being captured by the Pakistani authorities. “As many 643 fishermen and many fishing boats are in Pakistan’s possession,” he said in the Upper House of Parliament.
Urging the Centre to ensure release of these fishermen, Gohil said it “must do whatever is required to free them”. Gujarat has a 1,607-km-long coastline, the longest in the country. Sources in the fishing sector said when the Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) patrolling vessels are not in the vicinity of the IMBL, the PMSA apprehends Indian boats. In order to prevent such incidents, the Centre has made it mandatory for fishers to install GPS on all fishing boats. This is to help captains of fishing boats to avoid crossing the IMBL by mistake. And yet, a few fishing boats cross over either due to heavy currents or to catch higher quantities of fish.