Bhuj: The Border Security Force (BSF) has apprehended four Pakistani fishermen and seized a fishing boat in the Sir Creek area of Gujarat's Kutch district, near the India-Pakistan border, officials said on Sunday (October 25).

Source: PTI via The Hindu

According to PTI, BSF personnel acted on specific intelligence inputs and apprehended the fishermen in the Sir Creek area on Sunday. The official said the men had entered Indian waters for “crab-catching” activities, and a Pakistani fishing boat was seized during the operation.

PTI named the four men 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.

In its earlier report, ANI said the fishermen were apprehended on Saturday evening during patrolling in the Sir Creek area, and that the BSF had not at that stage disclosed the identities of the men or further details of the boat seized. “The fishermen were apprehended during patrolling by the BSF team in the Sir Creek area,” ANI quoted officials as saying.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

Sir Creek is a narrow, marshy tidal channel in the Rann of Kutch, running along the coast between Gujarat and Pakistan's Sindh province. The area is considered sensitive because the long-standing boundary question over the creek also affects the demarcation of the maritime boundary in the Arabian Sea, and its shallow channels and marshlands make navigation and surveillance difficult.

Officials said the BSF maintains a close vigil in the creek region to prevent unauthorised crossings and infiltration. Fishermen from both sides occasionally stray into each other's waters in the area, and the BSF has on earlier occasions apprehended Pakistani fishermen and recovered abandoned Pakistani fishing boats from Sir Creek.