Indian envoy summoned: Protest filed over capture of fishermen

KARACHI: The Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad was called in to the Foreign Office on Monday by Director General South Asia and SAARC and a protest was lodged over the capturing of 13 Pakistani fishermen by the Indian authorities on March 15, a Foreign Office statement said. According to Pakistan’s Fishermen Cooperative Society, the fishermen along with their boat were well within Pakistan territorial waters, at Khajar Creek, when they were captured, it said. Pakistan has called for the immediate release of its fishermen and return of the boat. The Foreign Office conveyed its concern over the incident, which was not only against international law and practices, but also is not in the spirit of the positive steps being taken by the governments of both countries to improve and normalize bilateral relations, the statement concluded.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2014.