ICG seizes 2 Pak boats off Gujarat coast

Ahmedabad, Jan 16: The Indian Coast Guard seized two Pakistani boats with 17 Pakistanis off the Gujarat coast on Wednesday, Jan 15. After apprehending the boats, the ICG ship towed it to Jakjau coast, where all the arrested Pakistanis were questioned. The possibility of these boats being used to carry out anti-India activities is not ruled out by the officials. The officials however said that all the men in the trawlers are fishermen and two are minors.

After the gruesome 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the ICG is on high alert searching for illegal vessels sailing in the Indian waters. The 26/11 terrorists entered Indian waters using such trawlers. A Coast Guard source said, "While carrying out patrolling inside our International Maritime Boundary, one of our fast patrolling craft P-142 apprehended two Pakistani fishing trawlers with 17 Pakistanis on it, 12 nautical miles off the Cori creek coast in Gujarat.

Patrolling of the coast has been stepped up after the Mumbai attacks. It can be recalled that the terrorists had hijacked a fishing trawler called Kubar, off the coast of Gujarat. They are believed to have killed the captain of the ship and the fishermen, before making their way to Mumbai. When they reached near Mumbai, the terrorists used dinghies to reach land.

170 people including 22 foreigners and two National Security Guard (NSG) commandos were killed in the incident

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)