The Gujarat government on Wednesday said that 144 fishermen from the state are in Pakistani jails, PTI reported.

Twenty-two of them were arrested in the last two years, state Fisheries Minister Raghavji Patel told the Assembly. Nine were taken into custody in 2023 and 13 in 2024.

The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency has accused the fishermen of entering its waters by crossing the international maritime boundary in the Arabian Sea, PTI reported.

In the last two years, 432 Indian fishermen had been released by Pakistan, the minister said.

The minister also said that as of December, Pakistan had also seized 1,173 fishing boats belonging to Indians. No such vessel has been returned in the last two years.

The Gujarat government has been submitting the required documentation, including proof of nationality, of the fishermen to the Union home ministry at regular intervals, Patel told the Assembly.

Also read: Caught for crossing invisible ocean borders, Indian and Pakistani fishermen are languishing in jail