On Sunday, a defence official from the Indian Coast Guard confirmed that a Pakistani fishing boat carrying 10 crew members had been intercepted and apprehended off the Gujarat coast a day earlier.
The boat, called “Yaseen,” was found 11 kilometres inside Indian waters with 2,000 kilograms of fish and 600 litres of fuel. An alarm was raised after the boat attempted to escape coastal authorities. Subsequently, the crew members were captured, apprehended, and taken to Porbandar for further questioning by the Coast Guard.
During the interrogation, it was found that the crew did not have any documentation. Nor did they provide any convincing justification for their presence in Indian waters. However, it was confirmed that the boat was registered at Keti Bandar in Pakistan.
The @IndiaCoastGuard 🚢 Ankit apprehended Pakistani 🚣 'Yaseen' with 10 crew in Indian waters at Arabian Sea during Night Ops on 08 Jan
Boat being brought to Porbandar for further interrogation@PMO_NaMo @CMOGuj @AjaybhattBJP4UK @Bhupendrapbjp @NIA_India @dgpgujarat @ANI pic.twitter.com/izf8GedLUb
— PRO Defence Gujarat (@DefencePRO_Guj) January 9, 2022
There has been a rise in such incidents of boats wandering into Indian waters and violating India’s International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). the Indian Coast Guard reportedly intercepted a Pakistani vessel with 12 crew members near Gujarat in September last year; another such incident was reported in December.
Similar incursions have also been reported by the Pakistani authorities. In November last year, the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) reportedly opened fire on seven fishermen on board the boat “Jalpari,” resulting in the death of a 32-year-old Indian fisherman. Another fisherman was injured during the firing, which the Indian authorities maintain was “unprovoked.” However, Pakistan said that the Indian fishermen had “illegally transgressed” into Pakistani waters and that the PMSA had delivered several warnings that were not paid heed to.
Moreover, there has also been an increase in boats being used to smuggle drugs into the country. Last month, the Coast Guard apprehended a Pakistani fishing boat with six crew members carrying 77 kilograms of heroin. Similarly, an operation in Morbi resulted in the seizure of a heroin consignment worth Rs. 600 crore ($80 million).
As a result of these repeated incursions on both sides every year, India and Pakistan exchange a list of prisoners as per their Consular Access Agreement, with a specific mention of the number of fishermen in their custody. The agreement requires both countries to submit their lists on January 1 and July 1. This month, Pakistan informed the Indian High Commission that it currently houses 628 Indian prisoners, of which 51 are civilians and 577 are fishermen. Likewise, India said it currently has 355 Pakistani prisoners in its custody; of these, 282 are civilians and 73 are fishermen.