Ship carrying Pakistanis, Iraqis detained

An unidentified ship with over 25 Pakistani and Iraqi nationals on board has been detained off the coast of Lakshadweep by security agencies after it illegally entered Indian waters.

An unidentified ship with over 25 Pakistani and Iraqi nationals on board has been detained off the coast of Lakshadweep by security agencies after it illegally entered Indian waters.

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Sources privy to the probe said that the ship had sailed into the waters and was cruising towards an unknown destination when the Coast Guard and the Navy challenged it. It has been anchored off the Lakshadweep coast.

The initial suspicion was that it could have been moving towards the Maldives, which, according to Indian intelligence, is now being preferred by terror groups based in Pakistan. However, the sources did not rule out that it could have been moving towards any of the unoccupied islands in Lakshadweep or Daman and Diu areas.

However, the picture would be clear once the people on board the ship are questioned by the central security agencies, the Coast Guard and the Navy, the sources said.

The ship was being thoroughly searched and a special team was being rushed from Delhi to carry out the searches as well as to interrogate the crew of the ship, they added.

The sources did not divulge as to when the ship was detained.