ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) on Friday arrested 28 Indian fishermen during an open sea operation for fishing illegally within the marine borders of the country.
According to security officials, five boats of the fishermen were also seized during the operation. The fishermen have been handed over to the Docks police for further legal proceedings. A police officer also confirmed that the Indian fishermen were fishing illegally in Pakistan’s territorial waters.
He said that cases were being registered against them, after which they will be presented before the court. Shanti Tappu, one of the arrested fishermen, said that their boat was caught up in a storm and that’s how they ended up unknowingly in Pakistani waters.
He appealed to the Indian government to release Pakistani fishermen detained there so that the move was reciprocated and they were released. Every year, dozens of Pakistani and Indian fishermen are picked up in the Arabian Sea after straying across maritime borders.