File photo of Indian fishermen being held in jail in Karachi. PHOTO: INP
The Maritime Security Agency (MSA) detained the fishermen on Wednesday after they strayed into Pakistani waters, and they were handed over to police Karachi, a senior police official told AFP.
"They (the MSA) have handed them over to police for further legal proceedings," Javed Jiskani, the senior police official told AFP.
Police will present the fishermen before a magistrate, who will send them to jail for "violating territorial waters illegally," Jiskani said.
Such arrests are frequently carried out by both countries, as the maritime border in the Arabian Sea is poorly defined and many fishing boats lack the technology needed to be certain of their precise location.
The fishermen often languish in jail even after serving their term, as poor diplomatic ties between the two arch-rivals mean fulfilling official requirements can take a long time.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have taken a turn for the worse in recent months, with shelling on the disputed border in Kashmir.
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@Asad: They did not bomb because they needed diesel to run power plants!
Let these poor people go, India would have bombed boats if they were Pakistani fisherman but still we should be humane to these poor people.
How easy it was for Pakistan to cook up similar terror boat stories. But it just doesn't have the same allergies India suffers daily.
This time no goodwill gestures. Hold these fishermen until India releases the Pakistani fishermen first, at least in equal numbers, who are rotting in Indian jails for years and are being severely mistreated there. Show of goodwill by Pakistan in the past has proved to have no positive effect on saffron terrorists, rather gave them a false sense of superiority and incentive to do further harm to Pakistan by stepping up malicious machinations. Sorry poor fishermen. Next time be careful not to vote for terrorists.
Please let them go .