144 Gujarat fishermen in Pak jails, none released last year
Gandhinagar, March 5 (IANS) As of January 31, a total of 144 fishermen from Gujarat remain in Pakistani jails, the state government informed the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
In the one year from February 1, 2023, to January 21, 2024, Pakistan released 432 Gujarat fishermen. However, no fishermen have been released since then.
The number of arrests of Gujarat fishermen by Pakistan has drastically decreased, the government said. Between February 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024, only nine Gujarat fishermen were detained by Pakistani authorities. In the following year, 13 fishermen were arrested, marking a slight increase.
In a separate response, the state government revealed that 1,173 boats from Gujarat are also in Pakistan’s custody.
Over the past two years, Pakistan has detained 22 fishermen and seized four boats. While 432 fishermen were released during this period, not a single boat was returned.
The issue of Indian fishermen being arrested near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) remains a long-standing concern, with repeated diplomatic efforts aimed at securing their release. As of July 1, 2024, 211 Indian fishermen were detained in Pakistani jails, with 134 hailing from Gujarat.
This marked a significant decrease from previous years; for instance, as of December 31, 2022, a total of 560 Gujarati fishermen were incarcerated in Pakistan, with 274 apprehended in 2021 and 2022 alone. The reduction in arrests suggests improved maritime practices and bilateral efforts to address the issue.
Despite these improvements, the prolonged detention of fishermen continues to impact their families and communities, highlighting the need for ongoing diplomatic engagement to secure timely releases and prevent future incarcerations.
In February, 22 Indian fishermen were released from a jail in Pakistan. They were detained in Pakistan for “inadvertently” straying into its waters during 2021-2022. Of these, 18 were from Gujarat, three were from Diu, and one was a resident of Uttar Pradesh.
janvi/dpb
Source–IANS
