23 INDIAN FISHERMEN ARRESTED BY PAKISTANI NAVAL AUTHORITIES

23 INDIAN FISHERMEN ARRESTED BY PAKISTANI NAVAL AUTHORITIES

Twenty-three Indian fishermen were arrested and four of their boats seized for fishing'illegally' in Pakistani territorial waters, an official said. The Indian fishermen were arrested after being warned twice that they had entered into Pakistan's territorial waters and were fishing there illegally, a spokesman for the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency said here yesterday.'After the warning these fishermen were arrested and their boats seized. They will be presented before a judicial magistrate on Wednesday,' the official said.

Since January this year, there have been frequent arrestsmade by the Pakistani Maritime security agency with 31 fishermen and 14 boats seized in January and another 24 fishermen and 12 boats seized in February. The arrests come despite attempts by both countries in recent times to free fishermen lodged in jails in Pakistan and India.

                                                                  Prof. John Kurakar