Sunday, Aug 24, 2003
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India & World
By B. Muralidhar Reddy
Bureaucratic hurdles and dispute over the release of some of the trawlers are the causes behind the delay. A delegation of Indian fishermen, camping in Karachi for over three weeks now, is running from pillar to post to secure their release. "Seven of us came from Mangrol for the release of our fishermen 24 days ago. Still there is no specific date set by the Pakistan authorities to release them and their boats despite promises made at the highest level. We are still hopeful," Veljibhai.K. Masani, leader of the Indian fishermen delegation said over phone from Karachi. A spokesperson of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said the Jamali Government was committed to the promise and that it was just a matter of time before the fishermen were sent back. The spokesperson said likewise there were over 90 Pakistani fishermen lodged in Indian jails and efforts were on to secure their release. It is routine for the authorities in Pakistan and India to detain fishermen who stray into their respective territorial waters. Just before the Agra Summit, there was a proposal for devising a mechanism for the release of detained fishermen at the provincial level itself once their innocence and identity was established. However, the proposal never materialised. A senior official in the Indian High Commission said that weeks after Mr. Jamali's announcement, the Pakistani Government had asked the mission to verify the antecedents of the detained fishermen and the process was completed promptly. "There was no delay from our side. We have been taking up the issue periodically with the Pakistan Foreign Office and we have promised help," the official said. According to Mr. Masani, 343 fishermen from Gujarat were caught in two batches by the Pakistan Maritime Security Authority, (MSA) in recent months. The first batch of 269 fishermen was caught along with 41 of their boats and the rest were caught with 18 boats this year. Mr. Masani said that during his interaction with the Pakistan officials, he had been told that the orders had been issued to release the fishermen and their boats. Subsequently MSA officials released 22 boats out of the 41 vessels seized along with 269 fishermen. But they were silent on the remaining 19 boats. He said that Pakistani officials were willing to release the 18 boats, which were caught along with second batch of 74 fishermen. But they were not forthcoming with firm answers about the fate of the 19 boats, he said expressing the apprehension that the MSA officials planned to impound them. "We are deeply disappointed. Fishermen from India and Pakistan get caught fishing in each other's waters and were periodically released by both sides along with their boats. Such a problem never arose before," he said.
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