BSF Apprehends Four Pakistani Fishermen In Gujarat’s Kutch

The Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended four Pakistani fishermen and seized a boat in the Sir Creek area of Gujarat’s Kutch district on Saturday evening for allegedly entering Indian waters illegally, officials said on Sunday.

The fishermen were intercepted during a patrol in the sensitive border region. The BSF has not disclosed their identities or provided further details about the seized boat.

Sir Creek is a roughly 96-km-long tidal estuary in the marshlands of the Rann of Kutch, separating Gujarat from Pakistan’s Sindh province before opening into the Arabian Sea.

The area is strategically important as the unresolved boundary dispute between India and Pakistan affects the demarcation of their maritime border.

India maintains that the boundary should follow the creek’s mid-channel, while Pakistan contests this interpretation.

The dispute dates back to conflicting interpretations of colonial-era boundary arrangements.

The uncertainty over the maritime boundary has repeatedly led to fishermen from both countries being detained after crossing into the other side’s waters, sometimes inadvertently while fishing.

The creek’s shifting tidal channels and difficult marshy terrain make patrolling challenging for security forces.

Beyond its strategic significance, the region supports fishing communities on both sides and has potential economic importance because of its fishing grounds and suspected oil and gas resources.

India and Pakistan have held several rounds of talks on the dispute, but the maritime boundary remains unresolved.

With inputs from ANI