Pakistan’s ISI may target Gujarat ahead of Assembly Election 2017: Sources

Mangalore Today News Network

Pakistan, Oct 27, 2017 : Intelligence agencies fear Pakistan may attempt 26/11-style attacks on Gujarat, including in election rallies, after the neighbouring country’s troops this month captured four Indian fishing boats around the maritime international boundary off the state and snatched the unique identification devices and documents of the occupants. Sources say spy agency ISI may send terrorists through the sea route to target poll-bound Gujarat where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath will be the star campaigners.

 

"Four boats had left Porbandar for fishing in deep sea earlier this week and were close to the boundary with Pakistan when they were caught by Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (coastguard) whose troops snatched their unique identification devices (UIDs) and identity cards," the sources told Mail Today.

The UIDs could be put on some other boats which would give them an Indian identity and the terrorists could sneak into the Indian waters using the seized ID cards, they said. Maritime agencies of both countries frequently detain each other’s boats for illegal fishing since the Arabian Sea border near Sir Creek is not clearly defined and many vessels lack the technology to fix their precise location. The sources said the Pakistanis did not impound the boats or cause much harm to the fishermen but went away with their cards and registration papers.

While PM Modi, being a native of Gujarat, is slated to travel and campaign in every part of the state, Yogi is set to address a number of rallies there including some in coastal areas such as Dwarka.

The Pakistani agencies earlier apprehended boats fishing near the international boundary but rarely snatched the UIDs and identity cards of fishermen out in the sea, said the sources.

Authorities began issuing unique identification devices or biometric cards to fishermen after Pakistani terrorists hijacked a fishing vessel, MV Kuber, to attack Mumbai in November 2008. The UIDs were provided to the fisher-folk so that marine security agencies are able to recognise the lakhs of boats venturing out in the sea every day and coming back to the ports.

Intelligence agencies have sounded an alert in the maritime area around the Gujarat coast and they are likely to take up the matter of the seizure with the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA). Biometric cards given to the boats and fishermen are checked with card readers carried by the marine police and fisheries department personnel and can be used to establish the identity of a boat or people.

Close to two lakh biometric cards have been issued to fishermen in Gujarat over the last four to five years. The waters around the state have become very active recently as they have been used for pushing in terrorists and narcotics by the Pakistani security and spy agencies. In December 2014, a Pakistani boat suspected to be carrying narcotics and explosives blew itself up while being chased by the Indian Coast Guard near Porbandar. Similarly, the Coast Guard apprehended a merchant vessel with more than 1,500 kilograms of narcotics hidden in the engine room in probably one of the biggest such drug hauls in the country.

Since the beginning of this year, more than 400 fishermen with over 70 boats have been apprehended by Pakistan near the IMBL. On April 26, at least 23 Gujarat fishermen were abducted along with their four boats by PMSA near the border off Kutch’s Jakhau coast. In April itself, PMSA had apprehended 42 fishermen with their seven boats. On March 26, too, the Pakistani agency had captured over 100 Indian fishermen and seized 19 boats from the same area.


courtesy:Yahoo