MSA officials said the fishermen belonged to Porbandar and Mangrol areas in Gujarat and had set out to sea about six days ago.
Pakistani authorities have arrested 31 Indian fishermen and seized their five vessels forallegedly violating the country’ s exclusive economic zone in the Arabian Sea, an official said on Sunday.
Maritime Security Agency (MSA) spokesman Lieutenant Commander Shakeel Ahmed Khan told reporters in Islamabad that the Indian fishermen were apprehended on Saturday night. The fishermen would be brought to Karachi harbour for being handed over to local police. Their five boats were also seized.
MSA officials said the fishermen belonged to Porbandar and Mangrol areas in Gujarat and had set out to sea about six days ago.
India and Pakistan detain dozens of fishermen every year for violating maritime boundaries. Some of the arrested fishermen have languished for months and even years in jails.
In Bhuj, Coast Guard sources told DNA when contacted on Sunday, “We have heard about this latest seizure of Indian fishing boats with Indian fishermen from the local fishermen’s association. We are on the job to get full details of the incident.”
The sources said that with the addition of five boats, Pakistan has now 398 Indian boats, all from the state coast, in its custody. The number of fishermen in Pak captivity has touched 444.
They said the Saurashtra fishermen had not shunned their old habit of crossing over to Pakistan for good fish catch even after the Kuber incident and Indian authorities constantly advising them not to go into Pakistani waters.
The sources said the Saurahstra fishermen were mainly lured by two varieties of fishes, not found in Indian waters. These are known as ‘Palla’ (hilasa) and Lalpari in local language which fetch a price of over Rs300 per kg.
With inputs from agencies
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