519 Gujarat fishermen in Pakistani jails
As many as 519 fishermen from Gujarat are languishing in Pakistani jails
As many as 519 fishermen from Gujarat are languishing in Pakistani jails, of whom 358 were arrested by that country over the past two years, the state government told the assembly on Wednesday.
Minister of state for fisheries Jitu Chaudhary said in his written replies that 20 fishermen from Gujarat have returned over the past two years following their release from Pakistan.
He was responding to a set of queries raised by Congress MLAs during the question hour. The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency keeps taking in custody fishermen from Gujarat at regular intervals, accusing them of crossing the notional International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) in the Arabian Sea. Of the 358 fishermen arrested over the past two years, 163 were apprehended in 2020 and 195 in 2021, said the minister.
According to the data shared by him, 247 fishermen have been languishing in Pakistani jails for one year, 76 for three years, and one for over five years. Explaining the procedure followed by the Gujarat government to get these fishermen released from Pakistani jails, the minister said the state government submits the required documents to the Union home ministry.
For better identification, the state government has started giving biometric cards to fishermen. Till now, 1.68 lakh fishermen have been allotted these cards.
Chaudhary said that the Gujarat government gives financial assistance of Rs 300 per day to families of the fishermen who are in Pakistan's captivity. The government disbursed Rs 2.30 crore to the families of 184 fishermen in 2020 and Rs 4.28 crore to 323 families in 2021, the minister stated.
Pakistani authorities seize the boats of fishermen while taking them into custody. Boat owners are not given any compensation by the Gujarat government, said the minister.
