Iranian forces seize 20 Pakistani fishing boats

100 fishermen also detained while fishing off Makran coast

QUETTA: Iranian maritime forces seized 20 Pakistani fishing boats and their crew off Makran coast in the Arabian Sea on Sunday.

The Iranian forces intercepted the vessels when their crew were fishing near Jewani, well within the territorial waters of Pakistan, according to official sources.



“The Iranians impounded 20 fishing boats, with 100 fishermen on board, and took them to the Iranian coastal town of Pasabandan,” one source told The Express Tribune. “The Iranian forces violated Pakistan’s sea limits.”

Fishermen in Jewani strongly reacted to the detention of their colleagues and demanded that Pakistan lodge a strong protest over the incident.



A fishermen’s delegation, headed by Chairman Municipal Committee Jewani Manzoor Baloch, met officials of the Pakistan Coast Guards, Fisheries Department and Pakistan Customs and apprised them of the ‘illegal action’ of the Iranian forces. The incident was also reported to Gwadar’s deputy commissioner.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2016.