Territory violation: 22 Indians arrested from Pakistani waters

The arrest comes two days after 89 Indian fishermen were released as a goodwill gesture.

KARACHI:

At least 22 Indian fishermen were arrested and seven boats were seized by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) for violating Pakistani territorial waters here on Saturday.

According to the MSA spokesperson, the fishermen were handed over to the Docks police after the initial investigation. “The fishermen were warned by the MSA before their boats were seized for penetrating deep inside our territory,” he said.

The Docks police have lodged FIR No 76/11 and 77/11 against the fishermen under Sections 3/9 and 3/4 of the foreign acts. The Docks police, however, said that the arrested would be produced in court on Monday.

Violation of the maritime boundary by seven to eight nautical miles remains tolerable and the fishermen are warned to turn back, he said. However, violations of 50 to 60 nautical miles are considered a “gross violation of territory” and the fishermen are then detained, the spokesperson said.

In a turn of events, the arrest came two days after the Pakistani Rangers handed over 89 Indian fishermen to the Border Security Force (BSF) officials at the Attari-Wagah land route, as a goodwill gesture aimed at boosting ties between Pakistan and India.

The two countries still hold hundreds of prisoners, mostly fishermen who are caught while entering territorial waters of the other country.

Following the meeting of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Songh on March 30, during the Cricket World Cup semi-final at Mohali, both governments have repatriated at least 129 prisoners to their respective countries.

In a goodwill gesture on April 7, Pakistan released Indian national Gopal Das who spent 27 years of his life in various jails of Pakistan on spying charges.

The matter pertaining to prisoners was one of the major issues discussed in the home secretary-level talks that were held in New Delhi around late March.

(WITH ADDITONAL REPORTING BY OUR CORRESPONDENT)

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2011.