Amritsar : Pakistan Government released as many as 80 Indian fishermen who crossed over to India on Friday night. All were handed over to BSF at the Joint Check (JCP) Post at Attari/Wagah border on Friday night by Pakistani Rangers .

Confirming the repatriation of Indian fishermen, Punjab police protocol officer Arun Mahal posted at Joint Check post of Attari  border   said that all the prisoners crossed over to India on November 10 night  through the land transit route of Attari/Wagah border on the basis of ‘Emergency Travel Certificate’, issued by the Indian High Commission based at Islamabad the national capital of Pakistan. 

The Indian fishermen were arrested when their boats slipped to Pakistan through the territorial waters in an area of the Arabian Sea where they were caught by the Pakistani coast guards under illegal fishing while violating the norms of its territorial waters. In the Arabian Sea the borders of both the nations are apparently unclear, said protocol officer. 

Immediately after the repatriation, the medical examination of all prisoners was conducted by the team of Indian doctors followed by dinner and arrangement of night accommodation.

The moment, group of Indian fishermen crossed over to India, they humbly bowed   down their forehead and kissed Indian soil with passion. 

Mahal said that at the time of arrest, three years back all the fishermen when they were fishing on their boats which all off sudden slipped into the territorial water of Pakistan due to sudden change of wind direction and came to know when all were arrested by the Pakistani coast guards (Pakistani Navy). There were around 12 expensive boats which were seized by the Pakistan Authorities. He said that fishermen were carrying writ large tension on their faces when they crossed over to India as their costly boats would never be released as it became the permanent property of the Pakistan Government. 

Fishermen are frequently arrested along with their boats by both India and Pakistan as the maritime border in the Arabian Sea is poorly defined, as many fishing boats lack the technology needed to ascertain their precise location, added Mahal. 

Released fishermen said it was very difficult to identify the territorial water during fishing in the Arabian Sea, since the colour of water in India and Pakistan were the same which always put the Indian fishermen in deep trap when they reached Pakistan and face arrest for illegal fishing.