India arrests nine Pakistani men in Sir Creek

Nine Pakistani men were arrested in the Sir Creek area off India’s western coast. The Border Security Force (BSF) caught these men during a special operation. “We had information that some people from across the border were trying to infiltrate into Indian territory. So we conducted a special operation and apprehended nine men,” a BSF spokesperson said. India has increased vigil along its western coastline after the 2008 Mumbai attackers were found to have made their way into Mumbai from the Arabian Sea.

Hundreds of fishermen are caught every year by both the Pakistani and Indian security forces for crossing “international borders” and detained for years as prisoners of war. But the non-resolution of the Sir Creek border dispute means that there is no permanent boundary in the Arabian Sea between the two countries. Talks on the issue are held as part of the Composite dialogue process, but have failed to produce any results so far. The two countries undertook a hydrological survey of the region in 2007  and talks were to be held based on maps created by the survey. (Details of the survey have not been made available.)

Sir Creek is a 96km strip of water in the Rann of Kutch marshlands and separates Indian Gujarat from Pakistan Sindh. The problem in defining a border arises due to Pakistan and India using two different maps dating 1914 and 1925 respectively.  The map of 1914 depicts the boundary on the east bank of the creek, while the 1925 map depicts it along the midpoint of the creek. The region is disputed not only for its fishing, but also because it is believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves. Agreeing to either line and taking it to its logical end into the sea would mean hundreds of square miles of continental shelf changing hands, and loss of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).

The Pakistani argument is that as Sir Creek originates in Pakistan’s Sindh province, it should belong completely to Pakistan. India on the other hand maintains that ‘Thalweg doctrine’ in International law requires water bodies between two countries to be divided mid-channel, and so the 1925 map should be followed. Pakistan argues that as Sir Creek is non-navigable and the doctrine applies only to navigable bodies, it cannot be applied in this case. However, it is navigable during high-tide and is used by fishermen to go out into the sea.

It was hoped that an agreement would be reached by 2009 when the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) was to come into effect making unresolved waters between countries into international waters. “As state parties to the UNCLOS both India and Pakistan are under an obligation to arrive at a negotiated settlement based on principles of International law. In case both the parties fail to reach an agreement then Part XV of the 1982 Law which provides for the settlement of disputes shall stand invoked by the parties.” (Link) However, the 2008 Mumbai attacks put all Indo-Pak dialogue on hold, and India decided to request an extension on the deadline.