Pakistan has arrested 34 Indian fishermen for allegedly violating the country’s territorial waters, nearly 10 days after releasing 60 prisoners from India as a goodwill gesture, officials said Wednesday.
The fishermen, arrested on Tuesday, have been handed over tothe police, a Pakistan Maritime Security Agency spokesman said.
“They will appear before a judicial magistrate who willdecide on their judicial remand,” he said.
This is the first time since January that the maritimesecurity agency has arrested Indian fishermen.
In January, five Gujarati boatsmen were arrested and jailed.
On April 29, Pakistan released 55 Indian fishermen and fivecivilians as a “goodwill gesture” amidst tension between the twocountries after the Pulwama terror attack.
Last month, the Pakistani government released more than 250Indian fishermen from the Landhi and Malir jails in Karachi.
The fishermen were released in three phases. The PakistanForeign Ministry had earlier announced to release 360 Indian fishermen in four separatebatches in April as a goodwill gesture.
Pakistan and India frequently arrest fishermen as there isno clear demarcation of the maritime border in the Arabian Sea and thesefishermen do not have boats equipped with the technology to know their preciselocation.
Owing to the lengthy and slow bureaucratic and legalprocedures, the fishermen usually remain in jail for several months andsometimes years.
According to the list of prisoners exchanged by India andPakistan in January, there are 347 Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails, 249 ofwhom are described as civilians and 98 fishermen, the report said.