Pak arrests 26 fishermen for violating maritime boundary

Pakistani authorities have arrested 26 Indian fishermen for allegedly violating the country's maritime boundary, an official spokesman said on Thursday. The fishermen were apprehended with six boats late Wednesday night for violating Pakistan's territorial waters, a spokesman from the Maritime Security Agency said.

Pakistan and India arrest dozens of fishermen every year for violating the maritime boundary. Many of them languish in prisons for years even after completing jail terms given to them.

Islamabad had recently repatriated 12 Indian prisoners, including 11 fishermen who had been held in a jail in Karachi for nearly three years. Another 442 Indian fishermen were freed last year after two Pakistani non-governmental organisations petitioned the Supreme Court for their release.