As of December 31, 2024, 144 Gujarat fishermen and 1,173 boats remain in Pakistani custody, the state government revealed in the Gujarat Assembly.
Over the past two years, Pakistan has detained 22 additional fishermen and four boats, escalating tensions over the long-standing issue of maritime arrests.
During a session in the Gujarat Assembly on Wednesday, Congress MLAs Shailesh Parmar and Amit Chavda questioned the Fisheries Minister about the fate of the detained fishermen and the seized boats. The government’s response confirmed that nine fishermen were captured in 2023, with the number rising to 13 in 2024, bringing the total to 144.
The government further disclosed that 432 Gujarat fishermen were released between February 1, 2023, and January 21, 2024, but no repatriations have taken place since. However, none of the 1,173 boats have been returned, highlighting a prolonged deadlock that continues to affect the livelihoods of fishing communities.
The issue gained renewed attention following the death of Babubhai Chudasama, a fisherman from Sokhda village in Una, Gujarat, who passed away in a Pakistani jail. His death sparked widespread outrage on social media after a letter detailing his final hours went viral.
According to the letter, Chudasama fell seriously ill at 4:30 a.m. on January 23, 2025. Fellow inmates rushed him to the jail hospital, but as his condition worsened, he was transferred to a city hospital by ambulance. However, he died on the way and was taken back to prison. The letter further stated that his body would be sent back to India as soon as possible.
His family revealed that Chudasama had been languishing in a Pakistani jail for four years, even after completing his sentence, due to bureaucratic delays in his release. His death marks the fourth such tragedy in the last two years, highlighting the dire conditions faced by detained Indian fishermen.
Families of imprisoned fishermen allege that many detainees have already completed their sentences but remain imprisoned due to delays in embassy verification. They claim that Pakistani authorities routinely capture Indian boats and fishermen, treat them as hostages, and disperse them across different prisons.
Despite submitting all necessary details to the Indian government, families argue that the slow verification process by the embassy is leaving their loved ones stranded in foreign jails indefinitely.
