Pakistan capture 5 Indian boats, 30 anoard off Gujarat coast

Porbandar

Amid the goodwill gesture on the one hand by Pakistan releasing 87 Indian fishermen, the Marine Security Agency of the neighbouring country (PMSA) today again captured five Indian boats off the Gujarat coast with 30 fishermen aboard.

The Pak Marines have so far captured around 57 Indian fishing boats with more than 340 fishermen since October last year. The latest capture of the boats has taken place amid the beefed up coastal security in Gujarat in the wake of intelligence reports of terrorists sneaking in from Pakistan.

The five boats (two from Okha and three from Porbander) with 30 fishermen were captured by the Pak marines today near International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) in the Arabian sea off the Jakhau coast, National Fish Workers Forum Secretary Manish Lodhari said.

Earlier on February 19, 16 Indian boats with 88 fishermen aboard and on February 7, a day after the arrest of 11 Pakistani fishermen and their boat from Indian waters off the Gujarat coast, the PMSA had nabbed two Indian boats off the Okha coast with 12 fishermen on board.

Pakistani Marines had caught over half a dozen Indian fishing boats along with more than 50 fishermen on January 25 from near the IMBL off the Porbandar coast. On December 20 last year 10 Indian boats with 68 fishermen were also captured by PMSA off the Jakhau port of Gujarat. Almost a dozen Indian boats with over 60 fishermen were also captured by the Pak Marines in October last year.

-DeshGujarat