48 Indian fishermen captured by Pakistan; 8 boats seized

AHMEDABAD: The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (MSA) today apprehended 48 Indian fishermen and seized 8 of their boats near Jakhau port off the Gujarat coast, officials of National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) said.

The Forum claimed that the Pakistani agency guards fired several rounds in the air to overpower these fishermen before taking them to Karachi from Indian waters.

Talking to PTI, NFF secretary Manish Lodhari said, "The Pakistan MSA apprehended 48 Indian fishermen along with 8 of their boats near Jakhau port off the Gujarat coast in the Arabian sea this morning."

According to him, they came to know about the incident from other fishermen, who came back.

"We learned that all the fishermen and boats belonged to Porbandar and Veraval. The Pakistani agency abducted these fishermen from Indian waters by firing several rounds in the air. They were taken to Karachi and lodged in jail," he said.

In December last year, the MSA had captured 58 fishermen and seized 11 of their boats near the International Maritime Boundary near Jakhau port.

Thereafter, on January 4, the MSA had apprehended 12 Indian fishermen and seized their two boats near the International Maritime Boundary.

This incident had come close on the heels of the Indian Coast Guard intercepting a Pakistani fishing boat off the coast of Gujarat. The boat, which was said to be carrying explosives, was intercepted on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1 around 365-km off the Porbandar coast, before it reportedly exploded, caught fire and sunk with four crew members on board.