The Hindu : National : Fishermen: India-Pakistan deal in sight

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 01, 2004

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Fishermen: India-Pakistan deal in sight

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI, NOV. 30. India is close to resolving a dispute with Pakistan over detention of fishermen, a senior naval officer said here today ahead of the Indo-Pakistan Coast Guard-level talks later this week.

Fishermen of both sides are arrested whenever patrols of either of the two countries perceive an infringement of their international maritime boundary.

"Talks are progressing very well and in the interest of both sides. We are at the culmination stage and the final bit should be clinched in this round of talks. The Coast Guard has the full backing of the Navy in whatever steps it is planning to take," said the Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff and former Coast Guard chief, Sureesh Mehta. Other senior officers said the two sides had concurred on the need for a "buffer zone" extending five nautical miles into each other's notional maritime boundary.

Reason for straying

"The boundary is notional and no markers are possible on the high seas. Unable to afford costly direction finding equipment, fishermen stray into the maritime zone of the other country, where they are arrested. At the time of arrest, they cannot understand the gravity of their crime. The buffer zone would help avoid the problem," Vice-Admiral Mehta told The Hindu earlier this year when he was the Coast Guard chief. The two sides would also discuss the proposal for setting up a hotline between the Coast Guard and its Pakistani counterpart — the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency.

If a buffer zone is set up and a hotline installed, both sides would be able to discuss the situation and avoid the en masse arrest of fishermen or even killings as was the case this year when the Coast Guard killed one fisherman and injured two others after they did not obey an order to stop their vessel. Most arrests take place when fishermen stray a couple of miles across the imaginary boundary in the hope of a good catch. More Indian fishermen commit boundary infringements because the sea on the Pakistani side has more maritime life. "We might agree to let others off and arrest only the coxswain [the sailor who commands and usually steers the boat]. That will save other families the misery of losing their breadwinners for a long time," said naval officials.

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