Even as India and Pakistan try and smoke the peace pipe, Islamabad has served a démarche to India protesting against the arrest of their fisherman in the Sir Creek area on July 23. It has also warned that the incident could affect the ongoing process of normalisation of bilateral ties.
The démarche was served on Tuesday with Islamabad taking a serious view of the arrest while alleging violation of international norms by the BSF, said sources. Noting that such incidents have the potential of vitiating the atmosphere, Islamabad has sought consular access to the fisherman and his immediate release. The fisherman, Gul Bahar, was nabbed by BSF personnel out on a patrol in high-speed boats in the Harami Dhoro area which is near Sir Creek. According to the ministry of external affairs, some six to seven Pakistani fishermen were detected by the BSF patrol and they adopted a “hostile” posture upon which the personnel fired two rounds in the air.
Except for Gul Bahar, the rest managed to escape, said the ministry. Pakistan has sought consular access to him, it confirmed.
According to sources, the démarche also regretted that such an incident has taken place at a time when the governments of both countries have embarked on the process of normalisation of ties and improvement in relations which could lead to the resolution of outstanding issues such as Sir Creek.
Patrolling by the BSF has been a prickly issue between the two countries in the area from where the Pak fisherman was nabbed. Pakistan has often accused India of violation of its territorial waters during patrols in the Sir Creek area. Now, it claims that the number of fishermen arrests being made by India has increased considerably — 79 of them have been arrested so far this year.
Sir Creek is a 96-km strip of water that is disputed between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands. India and Pakistan have been in talks to settle the dispute. Ironically, it’s one of the issues that is to be discussed in the talks schedule proposed by Islamabad.