Pakistan’s maritime forces on Wednesday captured 11 Indian fishermen and seized their boat in the Arabian Sea, PTI reported. The Indian Coast Guard said that it is in touch with its counterparts in Pakistan to enable the release of the captured men and their boat.
A Pakistan maritime surveillance ship, ‘Basol’, “apprehended” Indian fishing boat ‘Khuda Dost Ka Karam’ at the “mutually-agreed ‘No Fishing Zone’”, said the Indian Coast Guard. The boat, with 11 fishermen on board, was registered at Okha in Gujarat. “The Pakistani warship was chasing Indian fishing boats reportedly operating in Pakistan waters,” it said.
The Coast Guard was alerted near the International Maritime Boundary Line after it intercepted a Very High Frequency communication. ICGS Rajratan, based at Porbandar in Gujarat, was also able to prevent two other fishing boats with 19 fishermen from being captured.
“It intercepted two Indian fishing boats, namely Mayshab Maa and Safina Al Tahiri, both registered at Okha,” said the Coast Guard. “There were a total of 19 fishermen on board.”
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