Pakistan arrests 20 Indian fishermen

KARACHI: Pakistan has arrested 20 Indian fishermen and seized their boats for allegedly violating its territorial waters off the coast of Arabian Sea, a maritime official said today.

The Indian fishermen were arrested by the Maritime Security Agency ( MSA) while they were fishing in Pakistani waters of the Arabian Sea, a spokesman for the Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) told reporters.

The four boats of the fishermen were also seized.

"The fishermen have been handed over to the Docks police for further legal process," he said.

The arrests come just a week after the PMSA arrested 88 Indian fishermen and seized their 16 boats.

India and Pakistan had agreed to revive the dialogue process when external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj visited Islamabad for a summit in December, but the same in the month 66 Indian fishermen were arrested by the MSA while last month another 45 were held.

Pakistan and India regularly arrest fishermen who venture into each other's waters due to poorly marked maritime boundary.

Some of them spend years behind bars before being repatriated.

In the past, the two nations have released the fishermen as goodwill gestures.