55 Indian fishermen arrested, 9 boats seized by Pakistan Maritime Agency

Arabian Sea undefined maritime borders have led to unabated cases of detentions of both Indian and Pakistani fishermen

Fifty-five Indian fishermen have been arrested by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency for allegedly fishing in the country's territorial waters.

The PMSA has also seized nine Indian fishing boats during a four-day operation (between Wednesday and Saturday) in the Arabian Sea, a PMSA spokesman said.

The spokesman said that speed boats were deployed to intercept the boats of Indian fishermen, who were arrested as they were fishing illegally in Pakistan's territorial waters.

"The fishermen, after initial investigations, have been handed over to the Docks police," he said.

A police official said that the fishermen would now be produced before a judicial magistrate.

Fishermen from Pakistan and India are frequently detained for illegally fishing in each other's territorial waters since the Arabian Sea does not have a clearly defined marine border and the wooden boats used by fishermen lack the technology to avoid them from drifting away.

On October 29, the Pakistan government had released 68 Indian fishermen from Malir jail as a goodwill gesture.

Pakistani authorities had released a total of 438 Indian fishermen between December 2016 and January 2017 from the Landhi and Malir jails in Karachi.