March 24, 2026
By Shaukat Korai
KARACHI
Far from Pakistan’s shores, in the deep sea, fishing has crossed the boundaries of being just a livelihood – it is also a dangerous journey, where just one wrong move can turn life into captivity. Today more than 80 Pakistani fishermen are currently imprisoned in India… and each passing day brings fresh anguish to their families.
In a recent happening, India’s maritime forces arrested 12 fishermen, including two minors, Zaheer and Habibullah. Zaheer’s mother had decided to keep him away from fishing and focus on his education. But during school holidays, he went along with his uncle on a boat just for an outing, for a trip that became the biggest tragedy of his and his family’s lives. As soons as the boat entered into the deeper sea waters, they were arrested.
Zaheer’s education has become a bleak thing of the past, and his mother is left waiting endlessly. She says her son is in custody, and the only thing she has received is a video showing his arrest.
“Zaheer was studying; he had his school holidays, so he went with his uncle just for a trip,” she explained. “We are fisherfolk, so our children are naturally drawn to boats, but I never wanted my son to take it up as a profession — he was studying to do other things in life. All he took was one boat ride.” His mother tearfully recalls the time he always spent with her.
“We spent Ramzan together, fasting toegther. Now my son is not here, so there will be no Eid for me. Now all our time will only be spent in waiting for his return.”
In the underprivileged settlement of Ibrahim Hyderi, a fishing village near Karachi, four members of a single household are imprisoned in India. They were the family’s only earners, and now survival has become extremely difficult. The household runs on aid and the labour of the household’s women.
Basran Khatoon says her two sons and two grandsons are in custody.
“Hussain and Shafi are my sons, while Habibullah and Zaheer are my grandsons who are all in custody in India,” she said. “Habibullah is 15 years old and Zaheer is just 10 years old. We have been fishermen for seven generations. We have no other work or employment. The earners are imprisoned. Before going to sea, my sons had taken loans—now we must repay them. We owe 600,000 rupees to one lender and 200,000 to a bank. On top of that, we’ve taken household goods on credit worth another 100,000. We work in homes doing cleaning or receive rations; some relatives help too—that’s how we feed these children.”
This is not just the story of one family. It is the story of hundreds of families living along the coastline, where fishing for survival is equal to navigating dangerous waters.
During imprisonment, fishermen often suffer severe mental health effects; some even lose their sanity. Farid Alam, who was released from an Indian jail, says they were fishing for two days when they were arrested in the morning by Indian forces. “We were taken away from the sea, kept in a police station for three days, then presented in court. The case went on for a year, and we were sentenced to three years, six months, and 20 days. There was no physical torture, but loneliness and longing for home make you ill enough.”
He added that they worked in prison and had freedom to practice their faith, but said that they had been arrested because of a mistake: their boat operator was not properly trained and they crossed the country line without knowing it.
“They shouldn’t have been sent, but the owner still sent them,” he said, referring to the boatman.
Because of the constant impending fear of being arrested due to accidents, many fishermen have stopped going into deep sea waters, affecting their livelihoods. Fisherman Muhammad says he avoids deep sea fishing out of fear and instead fishes in shallow waters near the coast, which does not yeild much.
Mehran Shah, a leader of the fishermen’s community, says this issue can only be resolved if both countries implement United Nations guidelines. “If both sides sit together and think, a solution can be found. Because when the fisherfolk raise their voices, they are not heard.”
Dr. Ali Muhammad Mastoi, Additional Secretary of Sindh’s Fisheries Department, says the federal and provincial governments are jointly introducing a Vessel Monitoring System, which could largely resolve the issue. Through this system, boats going into deep sea will remain in contact and receive updates about maritime boundaries. The system is expected to become functional this year.