Islamabad: Pakistani authorities have
arrested 27 Indian fishermen on charges of illegally fishing
in the country’s waters, officials said on Thursday.
The Maritime Security Agency arrested the fishermen and
seized five fishing boats on Monday, said a spokesman for the
MSA.
Several Indian fishing boats entered Pakistan’s Exclusive
Economic Zone during the Eid holidays but a MSA vessel cleared
the area and detained the five boats, he claimed.
The spokesman said the Indian boats had intruded 40 to 50
nautical miles inside Pakistan's territorial waters.
The Indian fishermen were later handed over to the Docks
Police in Karachi and an FIR was lodged against them.
"Well over 100 Indian fishermen have been arrested by the
Pakistani maritime authorities during the current year,"
Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum president Muhammad Ali Shah told
the media.
He said the two countries should forge an alternative
method to check illegal fishing instead of arresting each
others fishermen.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, November 10, 2011, 12:25