23 ‘missing’ fishermen may be in Indian custody

The pressure of the wind blowing east-ward might have swept them towards Indian territory

KARACHI: The 23 fishermen who remain missing since the storm at sea 15 days ago are suspected to be in Indian custody.  It is possible that the pressure of the wind blowing towards the East might have strayed the fishermen towards Indian territory. The Fishermen Cooperative Society's (FCS) suspicions were further aroused after confirmation from Indian Port authorities of the recent arrest of three other Pakistani fishermen who had lost their way at sea due to the unusually strong winds and entered Indian territory. FCS has written a letter to the provincial home department in this regard.

Rescue operations

After persistent efforts in the past 15 days, the search operation in various areas of the sea, and the mangrove forests near Keti Bandar, has now been scaled back. All ad hoc efforts made by different organisations including the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency(PMSA), the Edhi Foundation and the FCS came to no avail. Neither the fishermen nor their bodies have been found at sea so far. However, the equipment believed to be in their use and locally-made life boats were recovered from the sea eight days after the fishermen went missing.

Fisheries sources say that the families of the missing fishermen come to the harbour every day in hopes of receiving good news about their loved ones.

The FCS claims that it was in touch with their counterparts in Gujrat, India, where the chairperson of a fishermen association, Vilji Bhai, had informed them of the arrest of three Pakistani fishermen, who had strayed into Indian territorial waters. Vilji Bhai was also being harrassed by the Indian authorities for relaying the information to the FCS, it claimed.

Hostile territory 

FCS has written a letter to the provincial home department expressing its suspicions.

The tides were dangerously high while the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan were experiencing extraordinarily strong winds, reads the letter. It further explains that as the pressure of the wind was blowing towards the East, it is possible that the missing fishermen entered Indian territory. As no trace of them has been found as yet, and neither have any dead bodies surfaced, the missing fishermen might be in Indian custody, it states.

The families of the affected fishermen should be assisted in this regard and the matter should be highlighted so that the status of the missing fishermen can be ascertained, reads the letter.

The recent arrest of three Pakistani fishermen, who had set out for a short fishing excursion in a small launch, has further strengthened suspicions as those fishermen were also led astray due to the stormy winds.

The letter has also been sent to the federal ministry of home affairs, ministry of foreign affairs, Sindh chief minister, ministry of livestock, Sindh fisheries, PMSA director-general and fisheries director-general.

Lost at sea

The 23 missing fishermen are believed to have been on the launches of Fazal Akbar, Al-Azizi and Al-Mudasir. They include the pilot of Fazal Akbar, Saifur Rehman who was from But Khalifa Malakand Agency, driver Ishaq Ghaman from Goth Misri Ghora Bari while Waqar Ahmed, Abdul Majeed Ghaman, Urs Rathore, Wazir Ali, Yar Muhammad, Alhorayo, Ayub, Muhammad Urs, Nasrullah Ghaman, Diyar Khan, Hazratullah, Rasheed, Saieen Dino, Wazir Ghaman and others hail from Thatta, Ghora Bari, Sajwal and Mirpur Sakro. Most of the missing are believed to have been aboard the Fazal Akbar Launch. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2019.