ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Monday summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad and lodged a protest over capturing of 13 Pakistani fishermen by Indian authorities on March 15, and called for the immediate release of fishermen and return of the boat.
As many as 13 Pakistani fishermen were arrested Indian Coast Guard by for allegedly entering Indian waters illegally on Saturday.
“Indian Coast Guard ship Meera Behn, while conducting an international maritime boundary line (IMBL) patrol, apprehended one Pakistani fishing boat with thirteen crew members from inside the Indian waters late last night,” the official said in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
However, the Pakistan’s Fishermen Cooperative Society said that fishermen along with their boat were well within Pakistan territorial waters at Khajar Creek when they were captured.
The Foreign Office conveyed its concern to the Indian Deputy High Commissioner over the incident which is not only against international law and practices but also is not in the spirit of positive steps being taken by the governments of both countries to improve and normalize bilateral relations.
