KARACHI / THATTA: The Pakistan Maritime Secu­rity Agency seized as many as 73 Indian fishermen for ‘fishing in Pakistani waters’, sources said on Sunday.

The arrest of the Indians apparently followed an incident in which personnel of the Indian Coast Guard took away nine Pakistani fishermen on gunpoint, along with their motorboat and their catch, from the Sir Creek area in the Arabian Sea.

Shaukat Ali, the docks SHO, confirmed on Sunday that vessels of the Indian fishermen had also been seized.

The Indian fishermen had been handed over to police, who had registered a case against them under the Foreigners and Fisheries Act, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the sources said the Indian security men took away the nine Pakis­tani fishermen early on Saturday morning after violating Pakistan’s water limits.

The chairman of the coastal union council of Chuhar Jamali, Haji Jahan Khan, confirmed the incident and said the nine fishermen’s boat, called “Karachi”, bore the fishing vessel number of 1076-B and was owned by Noor Muhammad, son of Haji Hussain Jat and a resident of Yaqoob Jat tehsil in Shahbunder district of Sujawal.

Mr Khan said the arrested fishermen were residents of the Yaqoob Jat village or its nearby areas.

He identified the fishermen as Naakho, the captain of the vessel; Mir Muhammad alias Amir Hamzo; Usman s/o Jummo Jat; Juman s/o Haji Moosa Jat; Maqbool Shah and Bachayo Shah, sons of Punhoon Shah; Alam, Sawan and Mithan, relatives of Allah Rakhiyo Jat; and Laalu Mallah s/o Ramoon alias Sobharo Mallah.

When contacted, chairman of the Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum Syed Muhammad Ali Shah said the frequent arrest of Pakistani fishermen by Indian authorities and counter arrests of Indian fishermen by Pakistani personnel had made life miserable for fishermen of both the countries.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2017