Archive · 9 Aug 2026
Families of Indian fishermen jailed in Pakistan await news
A fisherman named Maheshbhai told his wife he was going fishing and would be back.
That was six years ago.
He was captured by Pakistan and has been in jail there since.
His family in India has had no news of him for years.
His wife, Bhavnaben, was only 17 when they married.
She now cares for their two sons by herself.
One son was just a baby when his father left.
The family has very little money and lives with Maheshbhai's sick father.
The families of captured fishermen are asking both countries to set the fishermen free around their Independence Days in August.
Families of Indian fishermen captured in Pakistan say they have had no news of their loved ones for years.
Bhavnaben Solanki has been waiting six years for her husband Maheshbhai, who was captured in Pakistan during a fishing expedition.
Women from the fishermen's families have urged India and Pakistan to free the fishermen around their Independence Days on August 14 and 15.
Married at 17, Bhavnaben now raises two sons with barely any means of livelihood in Lerka village, Una taluka, Gir Somnath district.
Maheshbhai's mother has died, and his wife and children live with his bedridden father.
- Who
- Families of Indian fishermen jailed in Pakistan, including Bhavnaben Solanki, whose husband Maheshbhai was captured.
- What
- The families have had no news of the jailed fishermen for years and are calling on both countries to release them.
- When
- The request is tied to India's and Pakistan's Independence Days on August 14 and 15; Maheshbhai has been missing for six years.
- Where
- Lerka village, Una taluka, Gir Somnath district (India); the fishermen are jailed in Pakistan.
- Why
- The women urged both countries to use the Independence Day occasion to free the fishermen so their families can be reunited.
- Main affected individuals
- Bhavnaben Solanki and her husband Maheshbhai, an Indian fisherman jailed in Pakistan
- Core issue
- Families have had no news of captured fishermen for years
- Duration
- Six years since Maheshbhai's capture
- Appeal date
- Around August 14-15 (India's and Pakistan's Independence Days)
- Family situation
- Two sons, bedridden father, mother deceased, barely any means of livelihood
- Family location
- Lerka village, Una taluka, Gir Somnath district