“We have taken serious note of this incident. We are going to take up this issue diplomatically with the Pakistan side,” a government source said in New Delhi on Sunday.
An Indian fishing boat off the coast of Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) fired upon a Maharashtra fisherman, killing him in the Arabian Sea of Gujarat coast on Saturday, November 6.
Seven crew members were on a fishing boat, ‘Jalpari’ from Okha in Gujarat, among which five were from Gujarat and two from Maharashtra.
A fisherman from Palghar of Maharashtra was killed after the PMSA personnel opened fire on him, and six other fishermen on the boat have reportedly been abducted.
The officials confirmed the incident took place around 4 pm on Saturday when the PMSA personnel opened fire on the mermaid boat resulting in the action.
The deceased fisherman Sridhar R Chambre (32) was killed after being shot by three bullets in the chest and was brought to the Okha port on November 7 and shifted to Jamnagar for forensic post-mortem.
The Porbandar Navi Bandar police have registered an FIR for further investigation, and severe action will be taken upon this issue diplomatically with the Pakistan side. However, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) are yet to confirm Pakistan’s arrest of the boat’s occupants.
Have Pakistani troops ever done something like this before?
As a result of Pakistan’s act, tension can be seen in the relations between the two countries. This is not the first time the high seas have seen several incidents of fishers caught by the PMSA for transgressing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
After being intercepted by the agency along the IMBL, they reported to more than 350 Gujarati fishers in Pakistani jails.
In March this year, 11 Indian fishermen were kidnapped, and their boats were taken, with the accusation that these fishermen had invaded their territory.
Contrary to this, in April 2020, Pakistani Marines opened firing on two boats near IMBL in the Arabian Sea off Gujarat, in which one fisherman was injured.
Earlier in 2019, the PMSA sank an Indian boat with seven fishers on board. Six were rescued, but one was reported missing. In 2015, the PMSA shot and killed an Indian fisherman near the IMBL.
What does the government have to say about it?
On Monday, the Indian government retaliated by summoning a top official from Pakistan’s high commissioner and recorded a series of protests at the centre in response to the incident.
According to sources, they denounced Pakistan’s repulsive firing at an Indian fishing boat and causing death, violating all established international conventions and bilateral understandings.
Furthermore, the authorities are looking into the demarcation of the maritime boundary in the Arabian Sea. Otherwise, the fishermen will continue to be detained and imprisoned for no apparent cause.
