Pak apprehends 10 Indian fishermen off Gujarat coast

Ahmedabad: As many as 10 Indian fishermen were apprehended and their two boats seized off Gujarat coast by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), a National Fishworkers' Forum (NFF) official said today.

All the 10 fishermen had sailed from the coastal town of Porbandar few days back and were apprehended by the PMSA near the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) off Jakhau coast yesterday, NFF secretary Manish Lodhari told PTI.

"We have learnt that 10 fishermen on two boats were apprehended by PMSA near Jakhau coast yesterday afternoon. Pakistan authorities have informed us today that the boats and fishermen have been taken to Karachi, where they landed this morning," he said.

The boats have been identified as 'Devnandan' and 'Shana', each having five fishermen on board, said Lodhari, who is also president of Porbandar Fishermen Boat Association.

This is the second incident in past one month of fishermen being apprehended by Pakistan from near the Gujarat coast. On April 14, the PMSA had apprehended 24 fishermen and seized four boats off Jakhau coast.

The PMSA has been capturing Indian fishermen at regular intervals off Gujarat coast, claiming they violated laws by entering into Pakistan territory after crossing the IMBL in the sea.

During last four months, as many as 200 fishermen, along with 36 of their boats, were captured by PMSA in seven separate incidents, including yesterday's incident.