The State Government has shared the information

AHMEDABAD: A total of 184 fishermen from Gujarat, who were released from Pakistani jails last week, reached Vadodara by train from Punjab on Monday morning. The state government has shared this information. In a statement, the government said these fishermen were caught by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) near the International Maritime Boundary (IMBL) off the Gujarat coast in the Arabian Sea about four years ago, claiming that they had entered Pakistani waters.

In all, Pakistan released 198 Indian fishermen last week. Of these, 184 are from Gujarat, three from Andhra Pradesh, four from Diu, five from Maharashtra and two from Uttar Pradesh. "These fishermen, lodged in Pakistani jails, were released. Thanks to the diplomatic efforts of the central government. They were handed over to the Indian authorities on May 13 at the 'Wahga border' in Punjab," the statement said.

The Gujarat government had earlier demanded to the Center for the release of these fishermen. The fishermen, who arrived at the Vadodara railway station on Monday morning, were received by Gujarat's Fisheries Minister Raghavji Patel, MLAs Keyur Rokadia and Chaitanya Desai, among other dignitaries, the release said.

Of the 184 fishermen in Gujarat, 152 are from Gir Somnath district, 22 from Devbhoomi Dwarka, five from Porbandar and one each from Junagadh, Jamnagar, Kutch, Valsad and Navsari. Local authorities in Vadodara took the fishermen to their destinations in four buses. 

Notably, In March, the Gujarat government informed the Legislative Assembly that as of December 2022, 560 fishermen from Gujarat are languishing in Pakistani jails after being caught in the Arabian Sea. The state government had said that in the last two years, out of 560 fishermen, 274 were caught by the Pakistani authorities.