India Lodges 'Strong Protest' Over Killing of Fisherman by Pakistani Coast Guard, Demands Probe

New Delhi and Islamabad are also locked in a maritime dispute over joint claims to the sea off the coastline of India’s Gujarat state, which shares a border with Pakistan’s Sindh province. Despite several rounds of talks, the two neighbours have failed to establish their maritime boundary, which means fishermen often stray into disputed waters.

India on Monday lodged a “strong protest” with Pakistan over the killing of a fisherman by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) in what New Delhi has described as an act of “unprovoked firing”, officials said.

“A senior diplomat from the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi was summoned by the Indian foreign ministry today,” officials said. New Delhi has also demanded an inquiry into the incident.

New Delhi claims that the PMSA, which is the country’s coast guard, fired upon an Indian fishing boat 'Jalpari' on 6 November. The incident took place near India’s western seaboard off the coast of Gujarat state.

The incident led to a fisherman's death and the injury of someone else on board the Indian fishing vessel who is being treated in hospital.

Seven crew members were on board the Indian vessel at the time of the attack.

While lodging its protest with Pakistan, the Indian government said that the “loss of life is in contravention to all established international practices and bilateral understandings”.

"It was reiterated [to the Pakistani diplomat] that the authorities in Pakistan consider the issue of fishermen as a humanitarian and livelihood matter," officials added.

Meanwhile, news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that businesses in the killed fisherman's native village in Maharashtra state remained shut on Monday, in a mark of protest by local residents over the incident.

Police in Gujarat have registered a complaint against unidentified Pakistani personnel accused of firing shots at the Indian vessel.

According to the police complaint, the Indian fishing boat had sailed from the town of Okha in Gujarat on 25 October.