Gandhinagar: As many as 519 fishermen from Gujarat are languishing in jails in Pakistan of whom 358 were arrested by that country in the last two years, the state government told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Responding to a set of queries raised by Congress MLAs during Question Hour, Gujarat State Fisheries Minister Jitu Chaudhary also stated in his written replies that 20 fishermen from Gujarat have returned during the last two years following their release from Pakistan.
The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency keeps taking in custody fishermen from Gujarat at regular intervals accusing them of entering the Pakistani waters by crossing the notional International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) in the Arabian sea.
Of the 358 fishermen who were arrested in the last two years, 163 were apprehended in 2020 and 195 in 2021, said the minister. As per the data shared by him, 247 fishermen have been languishing in Pakistani jails for one year, 76 for the last three years and one has been in jail 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 required documents and proofs to the Ministry of Home Affairs at regular intervals for further action after verifying their nationality. For better identification, the state government has also started giving biometric cards to fishermen. Till now, 1.68 lakh fishermen were allotted these cards.
Chaudhary also 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. Though Pakistani authorities seize fishing boats of fishermen while taking them in custody, boat owners are not given any compensation by the Gujarat government, said the minister.
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