The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) on Monday condemned the Indian maritime force for arresting 20 Pakistani fishermen at sea in the Thatta creeks.
The fishermen had been busy with their routine livelihood activities when they were caught, the PFF spokesman said.
The first incident occurred on Sunday morning in which two boats Al Mola Madad and Al Faizan-e-Madina were confiscated and their 16 crew members taken into custody.
The crew members were identified as Mohammad, son of Hashim, Saddam, son of Mohammad, Akbar, son of Abu Bakar, Abdul Ghafoor, son of Mohammad, Hameed, son of Ismail, Abdul Majid, son of Luqman, Habib, son of Yaqub, Ghulam Mohammad, son of Abbas, Amin, son of Mohammad Ali, Abdul Razzaq, son of Haji Jan, Akram, son of Suleman, Amin, son of Sher Mohammad, Khuda Dino, son of Mohammad, Yousif, son of Faqir, Hussain, son of Urs, and Nawaz, son of Mubarak.
The spokesman said they received information from other boats’ crew, who escaped arrest because they were away from the place where the raids were conducted.
The relatives of detained fishermen were visiting the PFF office to seek help, he added.
The spokesman said that four crew men were arrested in a third raid on Monday morning.
These detainees belong to Haji Abbas Perozani village located near Kharo Chan in Thatta district. Their identities are being ascertained.
The fresh arrests have panicked the fishing community, as their many relatives have been in Indian jails for years.
Since January 1, some 33 fishermen have been arrested by the Indian maritime force.
More than 245 Pakistani fishermen have been languishing in Indian jails. There are some 300 Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails, who were arrested under the same charges of violating sea limits.
The PFF spokesman pointed out that the bodies of two Indian fishermen, who died in a Karachi jail, were still waiting to be handed over to their relatives.
A 50-year-old Indian fisherman, Kishan, died recently after being treated in the prison. He belonged to the Gujarat state of India. Similarly, 35-year-old Indian fisherman Bhikha Lakha Siyal died at the same prison on December 19, 2013.
Due to complications over document exchanges, sending the bodies to India may be further delayed.
The PFF has taken up the matter with the federal government and is also in contact with Indian civil society and rights’ groups to find a permanent solution.
PFF Chairperson Mohammed Ali Shah said they had advised the two governments to announce a 100-nautical mile a free zone for fishing for both sides, so the poor fishermen may feel free while operating their fishing vessels, and to issue specific identity cards to crew.
These are poor fishermen, whose relatives and families suffer back at home because they are the only bread winners of their families.
The authorities should announce a package for such low-income families so they may survive difficult times with dignity, Shah said.
He urged the government to stop making the sea a dangerous zone for the poor fishermen. He said the issue of detained fishermen deserved to be dealt with on humanitarian grounds.
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