A day after the Coast Guard detained nine Pakistani nationals and seized a fishing boat, more than 100 Indian fishermen were apprehended and 18 fishing trawlers seized by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) off the Jakhau coast in Gujarat.
A PMSA spokesman confirmed the arrests and said it was part of Pakistan’s efforts to secure its maritime territory.
The Indian fishermen were taken to the Dockyard police station in Karachi, and will be produced before a judicial magistrate on Monday.
The Coast Guard had apprehended a boat and nine crew — all fishermen from Pakistan — off the Gujarat coast on Friday.
The Indian fishermen were apprehended along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in international waters, Manish Lodhari, secretary of the National Fisherworkers’ Forum, told mediapersons on Saturday.
According to Mr. Lodhari, the exact number of fishermen and boats had not been confirmed.
Saturday’s arrests are the second such incident this month. Earlier, 115 fishermen and 19 boats were detained by the Pakistani agency during a fishing expedition along the IMBL.
