RAJKOT: As many as 58 fishermen were abducted by the Pakistan Marine Agency along with their 10 boats while they were on a fishing expedition in the Arabian sea .

Porbandar Boat Association sources said that the fishermen were apprehended by the Pakistani agency on Tuesday night off the Jakhau coast from inside Indian waters.

“We got the message of abduction of 58 fishermen along with their 10 boats and are getting more details,” sources added.

There have been many occasions when security agencies of both countries have apprehended fishermen for entering each other’s territory in the unmarked waters of the Arabian Sea. The contentious area lies between Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh and Gujarat’s west coast near Jakhau.

Sources in the Porbandar Boat Association said that since the beginning of the fishing season in August, the Pakistan agency has abducted 260 fishermen and seized 45 boats off the Gujarat coast . They further said that over 500 Indian fishermen are still languishing in different prisons of Pakistan. Though several prisoners have been released by Pakistan, as many as 850 boats still remain in their custody, sources added.

More than 150 Indian fishermen with their boats were released after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited New Delhi in May this year to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi .

Porbandar Boat Association sources said that the fishermen were apprehended by the Pakistani agency on Tuesday night off the Jakhau coast from Indian waters.