Indian coast guard apprehends Pakistani boat with 9 crew members

The Indian coast guard on Sunday apprehended a Pakistani boat off coast in Western Indian state of Gujarat, state-run broadcaster - All India Radio (AIR) said.

The broadcaster said the Indian coast guard ship, Samudra Pavak, apprehended a Pakistani boat with its nine crew members in the morning at 10:15 (local time).

"The preliminary information indicates the crew to be Pakistani fishermen," AIR said. "However, the boat and the crew members are being escorted to Porbandar for further investigation."

The boat's capture has come amid heightened tensions between the two neighbours.

India has sound an alert and intensified its vigil in the areas bordering Pakistan, fearing reprisal to its "surgical attacks" inside Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The authorities have ordered evacuation of the population from frontier areas bordering Pakistan.

India military last week claimed its men traversed Line of Control (LoC), de facto border dividing Kashmir, and inflicted significant casualties on infiltrators and their supporters inside Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

India's Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Ranbir Singh has not given the details about casualties of infiltrators or Pakistan army in the attacks but said their troopers returned back safely.

Pakistan, however, rejected Indian claims about "surgical strikes" inside their territory. According to ISPR two Pakistani troopers were killed due to firing early Thursday from Indian troops across LoC in Bhimber, hotspring, Kel, and Lipa sectors.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated because of the ongoing civilian protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir and a deadly attack last month on an Indian army base in frontier Uri town, about 109 km northwest of capital city - Srinagar. The attack killed 19 troopers and wounded over 20 others.

New Delhi blames Islamabad for fanning Kashmir protests and accuses it of sending armed militants into Indian-controlled Kashmir, an accusation Islamabad strongly rejects. 

Source : XINHUA