Murky waters

There is still no precise detail as to who was on the boat, what they were doing in Indian waters & where it came from

Some clarity has emerged about the sinking of a Pakistani boat on the night of December 31. It was originally stated by the Indian government that the boat was in its territorial waters for some nefarious but indeterminate purpose, and that the crew of the boat blew up both it and themselves when it was chased and stopped. This position has now been contradicted in a set of recorded remarks by a Deputy Inspector General of the coastguard who gave the order to fire directly at the boat saying, ”Blow the boat off … We don’t want to serve them biryani.” And so the coastguard cutter duly did that, the boat caught fire and sank along with what are believed to be four crew members, and there is still no precise detail as to who was on the boat, what they were doing in Indian waters and where it came from.

Previous statements by the Indian defence ministry, the defence minister and the coast guard had all referred to the boat blowing itself up 365 miles off Porbandar after an hour-long chase on New Year’s Eve. An Indian newspaper has said that video evidence suggested that “a use of disproportionate force” had led to the destruction of the boat — apparently on information received from intelligence and naval sources. The video of the burning boat does not appear to prove the assertion that there were explosives on board. With all the evidence at the bottom of the sea and those who could have told the tale now dead, it is unlikely that we are ever going to know with any certainty what the intentions of those on the boat were. Clearly, they were given no quarter. There is no report that they had fired on or behaved aggressively towards the Indian Coast Guard, but no attempt appears to have been made to capture them — a task well within the coast guard’s capacity. If this is the way India chooses to conduct its maritime affairs, then woe betide those unfortunate fishermen who find themselves on the wrong side of the line.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th,  2015.

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