Indian boats in Pak custody a security concern: Gujarat Govt

Ahmedabad: Amid conjectures that the Indian fishing trawler from Porbandar in Gujarat, Kuber, was hijacked by Laskhar men to execute the Terror attack on Mumbai, the long pending issue of 379 Indian fishing boats in the custody of Pakistan is all set to be raised at an international level all over again. The issue, which was hitherto taken up mainly on humanitarian grounds, is also considered by the intelligence agencies as a serious threat to the security of the country.

The issue assumes seriousness because 200 of the 379 apprehended Indian fishing boats in Pakistan have reportedly been auctioned by them. Central and state intelligence reports indicate that among the bidders who procured these boats can be terror groups like the one that carried out the Mumbai attack.

State Home Minister Amit Shah said, "That the apprehended Indian boats can be a security threat to India has been brought to the notice of the Foreign Ministry. We have asked the ministry to get details of the auctioned Indian boats from Pakistan."

According to records, 336 fishermen, mostly from Gujarat, who were apprehended by the Pakistan Marine Agency for entering into their waters inadvertently, are still languishing in jails there. However, 99 fishermen were released by Pakistan on Friday as a part of confidence building measures between the two countries and are expected to reach their homes by Sunday night. The Indian fishing boats that were apprehended with these Indian fishermen, however, continue to be in the custody of Pakistan.

In order to assess the condition of these fishing boats, the Gujarat Government had in October sent a delegation of officials and fishermen to Karachi. The delegation was, however, not allowed to meet the Indian prisoners.

An officer of Fisheries Department in Gandhinagar, M K Chaudhary, said, "Of the 379 boats, we were allowed to inspect only 181. While most of these 181 had started rotting, 135 of them were in a repairable state. Though their engines had clogged, some of them can be brought back to India.

The Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan, S K Reddy, was accompanying us. When we asked for the details of the boats that had been auctioned and the money they got, the Pakistani authorities refused to part with that information."

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