Gandhinagar (Gujarat): The Gujarat government on Wednesday informed the State Assembly that as many as 560 fishermen from the state are currently lodged in Pakistani jails. The State Government shared the statistics in the Legislative Assembly in response to questions raised by Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar.
The response from the State Government came during Question Hour. Responding to questions over the issue, State Fisheries Minister Raghavji Patel said that nearly half of the 560 fishermen were arrested by Pakistan in the last two years.
The Minister stated that 193 fishermen were detained in 2021 by Pakistan. He also said that the figure stood at 81 in 2022. According to the Minister the State Government has already submitted the proof of nationality and other required documents to the Union Government to the Home Ministry in the last two years to ensure the release of the fishermen from Gujarat. He also said that the details regarding the nationality of the said fishermen have been made available to the Home Ministry.
The Minister further stated that in 2021, the documents were submitted to the Central government 11 times while in the following year, they were submitted 10 times. The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency frequently detains Indian fishermen from Gujarat accusing them of entering Pakistani waters by crossing the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) in the Arabian sea.
According to Gujarat Government officials, the State Government provides a monthly aid of Rs 300 to the families of fishermen lodged in Pakistani jails. They also said that currently 323 families are being provided with the aid.
