Pakistan, India fishermen face less jail risk

KARACHI, May 29 (Reuters) - Anguished Pakistani fishing families today were awaiting the return of their menfolk from jail in India but such scenes could soon become much more rare.

The South Asian rivals agreed last week to conduct a joint survey of a rich but disputed fishing area on their border where countless fishermen have been detained over many years.

''I can't wait to see them again,'' said Mai Hanifa, a resident of the Pakistani coastal village of Atharki Goth, referring to nine village fishermen due to cross back into Pakistan today.

''They took a big risk going out fishing but it is something they have to do if we are to survive,'' Hanifa said.

Hanifa's nine relatives are among 59 Pakistani fishermen due to come home from jail in India.

Fishermen from both sides, facing dwindling stocks, are regularly tempted into the disputed Sir Creek, which flows into the Arabian sea between India's Gujarat state and Pakistan's Sindh province.

Officials of both countries met last week in New Delhi and reached an agreement to conduct a joint survey of the area between November and March and to work for a settlement of the dispute.

The absence of a clear maritime boundary in the Sir Creek has long made it difficult for fishermen of both countries to tell in whose waters they actually are.

''The Sir Creek area has been an area of dispute between the two countries since 1947,'' said Sami Memon, a spokesman for the Pakistan Fishermen's Forum, referring to the year India and Pakistan become separate countries.

''Naturally, if there is an agreement and both countries demarcate the area then there would be a decrease in the arrest of fishermen of both countries,'' Memon said.

''An agreement over Sir Creek area is imperative as it is a rich fishing area and fishermen from both countries need to know how far they can go,'' he said.

With ties gradually improving between the nuclear-armed rivals in recent years, both countries have released hundreds of fishermen as gestures of goodwill.

Memon said the 59 fishermen crossing back into Pakistan on Monday were the last Pakistani fishermen being held in India although others were still being held there on smuggling charges.

REUTERS SHB VC1650