The Border Security Force (BSF) has apprehended four Pakistani fishermen who allegedly entered Indian waters for crab-catching activities and seized a fishing boat near the India-Pakistan border in Gujarat’s Kutch district.According to news agency PTI, the fishermen were apprehended from the Sir Creek area on Sunday following specific intelligence inputs, an official said. The fishermen were identified as Kadir Thaimor, Muhammad Mussa, Azgar Thaimor and Ahsan Jat, all residents of Chach Jaan Khan village in Pakistan’s Sindh province, according to information provided by the BSF.Sir Creek is a narrow, marshy tidal channel in the Rann of Kutch, along the coastal region between Gujarat and Pakistan’s Sindh province.
The area is strategically sensitive because the longstanding India-Pakistan boundary dispute over the creek affects the demarcation of the maritime boundary in the Arabian Sea.The region’s shallow waters, tidal channels and extensive marshlands make navigation and border surveillance challenging. Fishing activities in the area can also lead to fishermen crossing into the other country’s waters, prompting apprehensions by security personnel.
The BSF maintains surveillance along the sensitive western border to prevent unauthorised crossings and other illegal activities. The latest apprehension follows an operation based on specific intelligence inputs, during which the four fishermen and their boat were taken into custody.