The Pakistani maritime agency- Pakistan Maritime Security Agency has cancelled the annual maritime security dialogue with India
The Pakistani maritime agency- Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) has cancelled the annual maritime security dialogue with India.
The meet between India's coast guard (ICG) and PMSA was to happen on March 19, 20 and 21 and go on till February. Both the sides had agreed for the meet.
However, Pakistan highlighted the prevailing condition for the cancellation of talks.
Pakistan on February 27 launched strikes against Indian military installations in the aftermath of Indian counter-terror strikes on Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camps in Balakot, Pakistan.
JeM is the group responsible for the February 14 terror attacks in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Last year India and Pakistan held their first dialogue after a gap of two years with Indian Coast Guard (ICG) director General Rajendra Singh and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) chief Rear Admiral Zaka Ur Rehman in Delhi.
Before that, a meeting had taken place in Islamabad in 2016.
In 2018 meeting, the release of Indian fisherman was the key focus from New Delhi.
The Indian Coast Guard in a release said, "During the meeting, the Indian side reiterated the need for instituting Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for immediate release and repatriation of the fishermen who cross the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) inadvertently as the issue needs to be approached in a humanitarian context."
483 Indian fishermen are in Pakistani custody according to the list exchanged between India and Pakistan on January 1 as part of 2008 agreement.
On January 17, PMSA fired upon an Indian fishing boat near Mitha port in Gujarat in which one Indian fisherman died while six others were rescued.
The dialogue is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Pakistan in 2005.
The heads of ICG and PMSA also have a hotline link on the lines of India-Pakistan DGMOs for regular exchange of information on non-military maritime issues as per the 2005 agreement.
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 "Pakistan cancels annual maritime security dialogue with India")
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