Ahead of the foreign ministry level dialogue, India and Pakistan Thursday resumed the dialogue between Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency and India’s Coast Guards. This was the first time that this dialogue took place after the Mumbai attacks.
According to government sources, Pakistan side, led by Rear Admiral Wasim Akram, strongly took up the fishermen issue asking their Indian counterparts to provide real time information to Pakistani agencies whenever any Pakistan fisherman is detained. “They said Indian agencies don’t provide information about detained fishermen leading to confusion in Pakistan. They said they should be informed immediately and also demanded that the boat in such cases be returned to Pakistan too,” said a government source.
The Indian side is said to have reacted positively to the demands made by Pakistan.
The Pakistan side also asked Coast Guards to ensure that Indian fishermen don’t poach into Pakistani territorial waters. Akram also invited the chief of Coast Guards to visit Pakistan. Sources said that the invitation has been accepted. Foreign minister S M Krishna had recently thanked Pakistan for releasing many Indian fishermen.
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