KARACHI: The Indian Coast Guards have arrested nine Pakistani fishermen and seized their boat, Al Madina.

This is the second such incident within a month as Indian forces had detained another 11 Pakistani fishermen earlier on December 12, too.

According to the available information shared with Dawn by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF), the detained fishermen have been identified as Mohammed Idris, Mohammed Yousuf, Fareed Aslam, Mohammed Hussain, Ibrahim Sona Mian, Mohammed Shahid, Mohammed Younis, Mohammed Haroon and Arif Hassan.

The incident has created serious fear and anxiety within the fishing community which depends entirely on the sea for its livelihood.

PFF Chairman Mehran Ali Shah has strongly condemned the unjust action and said: “The continuous arrest and detention of poor fishermen under the pretext of disputed maritime boundaries is unacceptable and inhumane.”

He demanded immediate and unconditional release of all the fishermen languishing in Indian jails.

The chairperson of the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS), Fatima Majeed, who also serves as a senior vice chairperson of PFF, told Dawn that they work on the documentation of fishermen languishing in Indian jails in liaison with government organisations here.

“It was great to receive 48 Pakistani fishermen released from Indian jails in September of last year. But in the last one month we have also seen 20 more of our innocent fishermen getting picked up by the Indian Coast Guards. We strongly condemn this action,” she said.

“It is not just a loss of fishermen but also their fishing boat, which the fishermen construct themselves within their meagre means. Even after their release the boats are never returned to them,” said Ms Majeed .

“And getting arrested means spending the best years of your life behind bars in difficult circumstances. Out here also their families suffer badly without them as many times the one arrested was the sole earning member of a family. The women and children in their family face hardship,” she said.

“Therefore, arresting the fishermen like this is also a violation of human rights. They were only earning a livelihood. And they got arrested because there are no visible boundaries in the sea,” she added.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2026