Pakistan arrests 60 Indian fishermen

KARACHI: Sixty Indian fishermen have been arrested and their boats seized by Pakistani maritime authorities for allegedly straying into the country's territorial waters.

The fishermen were arrested by Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) on Thursday but their detention was not made public.

They will be presented before a judicial magistrate on Saturday.

A spokesman for the PMSA said that the arrests came after the Indian fishermen were found fishing in Pakistani waters and did not leave despite warnings from the officials.

Earlier this month, Pakistan had released some 219 Indian fishermen as a goodwill gesture. Both Pakistan and India often arrest fishermen from the other country for violation of their territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. These poor fishermen spent months and sometimes years in jails before released and repatriated back to their countries.

The PMSA had arrested 66 Indian fishermen on December 31 and sent them to jail for illegally fishing in Pakistan's territorial waters in the Arabian sea.