Pakistan arrested 17 Indian fishermen and confiscated their three boats for ‘straying’ into the country’s territorial waters.
According to a report by the Press Trust of India, the arrested fishermen were produced before a judicial magistrate on Saturday and handed over to the police.
The news gathering agency quoting an official further reported that the Indian fishermen were warned that they were in Pakistan’s territorial waters and should turn away but did not heed the warning.
Fast response boats were used to arrest the 17 fishermen who were 10-15 nautical miles inside Pakistan’s territorial waters near Sir Creek, the coastal border between Pakistan and India.
The Indian fishermen are sent either to Malir or Landhi jail in Karachi.
The arrest comes after a gap of one year when 23 Indian fishermen were arrested and four of their fishing boats seized by the Maritime Security Agency.
Pakistan and India frequently arrest fishermen as there is no clear demarcation of the maritime border in the Arabian Sea and the fishermen do not have boats equipped with the technology to know their precise location.
Owing to the lengthy and slow bureaucratic and legal procedures, the fishermen usually remain in jail for several months and sometimes even for years.
