Release all detained fishermen

The Honourable
Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan

SUBJECT: Release all detained fishermen

Fishermen of both India and Pakistan are frequently attacked, arrested and even killed by naval forces of both the countries and their fishing boats and launches are confiscated. These poor fishermen are put in prisons for years on charges of crossing the water zones of their respective countries. For years they are not produced in any court of the law.

Since there is no visible demarcation in the sea water between the two countries, the fishermen of both the countries easily stray into the water zone of the each others country due to inclement weather.

Presently there are 225 Pakistani fishermen detained in India while about 529 Indian fishermen are behind the bars in Pakistani jails. In the past two decades about 18 Pakistani fishermen have died in Indian jails and about 8 Indians suffered the same fate in Pakistan.

Besides arresting fishermen, security agencies of the two countries also seize trawlers and fishing boats, which are not returned even when fishermen are released, which causes enormous economic loss to the fishing communities particularly of Gujarat in India and Sindh province in Pakistan.

Unfortunately, a little attention is paid towards this issue. The recent death of Bhambania Laka, an Indian fisherman caught by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) of Pakistan in March 2009 did create some temporary hue and cry but a poor fishermans death ruined an entire family. Just protest was not a solution to the old problem. Recently 56 Pakistani fishermen of the Kharochan, Shah Bandar and Jati villages were caught in India and their families have been devastated and facing starvation due to arrest of their income earning member.

We demand both the countries to immediately release all the detained fishermen of both the countries and return all their seized boats. A reasonable compensation should also be paid to catch inmate. There is a need of finding out a permanent solution to the problem.

Since there are no visible boundaries on waters and no sign posts are installed to warn the fishermen about the sea border, arrests of fishermen on accusations of crossing waters is injustice and violation of international human rights.

Ironically, arrested fishermen are treated like prisoners of war even treated very inhumanely. Civil society and labour organizations request for access and interviews with the detained fishermen in two countries are outrightly denied by the both the governments. Those who raise this issue are harassed by security agencies in both the countries, which should be condemned. Even the prisoners of war have some rights under the Third Geneva Convention of 1929, even which are not provided to these innocent fishermen.

Detained fishermen could have been released simply by warning or after a few days of detention but it takes years for security agencies of both the countries to file a case. They treat each others citizens like enemies and try to punish them as much as they can. The release after detention is itself a very complex issue as it is done while considering several factors.
As per current practices a Pakistani fisherman in India even if released by Indian authorities can only return when his name is confirmed by Pakistani authorities. Similarly, exchange is made on equal numbers. For example recently Pakistan authorities released 100 Indian fishermen and in return India announced to release 90 Pakistani fishermen.

This inhuman practice has virtually devastated hundreds of families of poor fishermen on both the sides of border. There are 24 fishermen from a single village in Sindh, Kharochan in Indian jails. A recent visit showed that every second family in this small fishing village have been badly affected as their bread earners are in Indian jails, there is no channel of communication, children have stopped going to schools and entire families are suffering economically.

Peoples organizations particularly organizations of fishermen on both sides of the border have raised this issue at different forums and have taken up with relevant authorities. Though there is little or no response, we have not given it up.

Our demands are:

Immediate release of all fishermen currently in Indian and Pakistani jails;

Return of their boats and compensation for seized catch;

No arrests in future and only warning in case of border crossing;

Free movement of fishermen