Thirty Pakistani fishermen were arrested for inadvertently straying into Indian waters at Jakhau in Gujarat, the Indian Coast Guard said on Monday.
The two boats in which they were travelling and fishing had been seized, a Coast Guard spokesman was quoted as saying, according to a media report received here.
The boats, intercepted by an Indian Coast Guard ship yesterday, had entered six nautical miles into Indian waters after crossing the International Water Boundary, the reports claimed.
After their arrest, the fishermen were taken to Okha port where they were interrogated. Later, the fishermen were handed over to local police, added the report.
On May 29, India had released 59 Pakistani fishermen who were handed over to concerned authorities at Wagah border, while Pakistan had repatriated 71 Indian fishermen subsequently who had inadvertently entered its territorial waters.
India and Pakistan had welcomed the release of fishermen by each other in the joint statement, issued at the conclusion of talks on Terrorism and Drug Trafficking, held on May 30-31 in Islamabad.
They agreed to release the remaining fishermen by 30 June 2006. Both sides also agreed that fishermen and civilian prisoners, who have completed their prison sentences and have been granted consular access and whose national status has been verified, would be released by 30 June 2006.
In addition, according to the joint statement, they had agreed to exchange lists of civilian prisoners by 15 June 2006 to facilitate consular access by 31 July 2006 and subsequent release. They also agreed to the early release of inadvertent crossers, minors, senior citizens and disabled persons, who are not involved in any specific cases.
Comments
Comments are closed.