KARACHI, Nov 3: The coastal surveillance agencies on Saturday seized an Indian fishing vessel and arrested its 16-member crew operating within the Pakistani territorial waters.

The arrested Indian crew were handed over to the Docks police and booked under the Pakistan Entry Act and Fisheries Act for entering into the Pakistani territorial waters illegally.

They were identified as Juma, Abdullah, Ishaq, Aziz Qasim, Latif, Ibrahim, Sulaiman Mohammad, Razzak, Ashgar Ali, Ibrahim Mohammad Qasim, Rahim Ismail, Khalid, Hanif, Saleem Ismail, Ali Husain and Lakha Sona.

Their vessel is in Coast Guards’ custody, a police official said.

It may be recalled that Pakistani authorities had issued release order of 216 Indian fishermen and their 46 boats on humanitarian grounds a few days back.