261 Indian, 15 Iranian fishermen convicted by Pak court

At least 261 Indian and 15 Iranian were sentenced by a judicial magistrate for a period they have already spent in detention for fishing inside the Pakistani territorial waters in Arabian Sea.

Judicial Magistrate (West), Salman Amjad Siddiqui, directed the authorities concerned to make arrangements for their repatriation.

The court convicted the fishermen after they entered a guilty plea while co-accused Ismail Elahi Bux, who was arrested along with the Iranian fishermen in February, pleaded not guilty and claimed that he was a Pakistani.

In addition, the Judicial Magistrate (West) also imposed a fine of Rs. 1,000 on each convict and ordered that they would have to undergo an additional 15-day imprisonment in case of default.

The fishermen were detained and their boats seized by the Maritime Security Agency after being found fishing inside the Pakistani territorial waters in Arabian Sea in separate actions that took place between November 2015 and March 2016.

Cases under Sections 3/4 of the Foreigners Act and 3/9 of the Fisheries Act were registered against them at the Docks Police Station.