ગુજરાતી
English
October 4, 2025
Pakistan is building a military infrastructure near Sir Creek. Rajnath Singh warned Pakistan by visiting Kutch, Gujarat, and performing an arms worship ceremony at a military base. The Pakistani Army has established its military infrastructure in the area near Sir Creek. If Pakistan dares to take any risks, a decisive response will be given, changing both history and geography.
78 years after India’s independence and 65 years after Gujarat came into existence, a border dispute continues in the Sir Creek region. This dispute has been ongoing for decades. Sir Creek is a 96-kilometer-long marshland between Pakistan’s Sindh province and India’s Gujarat state, which both countries claim. Both countries view this maritime border differently.
A narrow bay in the sea is called a creek. Sir Creek is a narrow, muddy bay between India and Pakistan, connected to the Arabian Sea.
It was originally named Ban Ganga, but during British rule it was renamed Sir Creek. Disputes over this area have existed since the British era.
India maintains that the border should be drawn through the middle of the creek, while Pakistan maintains that the border should be drawn along the shore, as the British government declared it an impassable area in 2014. It was part of the Presidency, but the two princely states disputed the creek area.
A survey was conducted between 1913 and 1914, and the Bombay Presidency issued a resolution stating that Sir Creek was a muddy area, impassable for ships. Therefore, the border would be drawn from the eastern shore, not the middle. This resulted in the entire Sir Creek being transferred to Sindh.
Thalweg
After independence, Pakistan wanted to proceed with this decision, but India insisted that the border should be drawn through the middle of the creek. India cited the principles of previous international boundary law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
This principle is called thalweg. According to it, if there is a river or bay between two countries, the border will be determined by the line between them.
However, Pakistan argues that it is not navigable and is a muddy area, so this principle cannot be applied.
India argues that the nature of this area keeps changing due to the tides. It is not just a muddy area; ships can pass through it. Therefore, demarcating the border based on the coast is meaningless.
This region is extremely important from economic, military, and strategic perspectives. The exclusive economic zone (EEZ), meaning the rights to resources on the water or sea surface, and the continental shelf (the land beneath the sea and its minerals, oil, and gas), are crucial. This area is considered rich in oil and natural gas.
The disputed border also poses a problem for fishermen from both countries. Pakistan discharges its saline and industrial wastewater into Sir Creek, which has environmental impacts. This also violates the Indus Water Treaty. Polluted water flows into the water, often causing flooding.
Both countries were required to resolve their maritime disputes by 2009, otherwise there was talk of declaring the disputed area international waters.
Despite being members of UNCLOS, India and Pakistan consider Sir Creek a bilateral issue and do not want to take the dispute to an international court.
Until 2015, repeated talks were held between the two countries to resolve it. Talks were also held in 1995 and 2005, but the matter remained unresolved. No solution has yet been reached.
Rajnath Singh’s statement is highly unusual, as the Sir Creek issue is no longer relevant.
The Sir Creek dispute was very heated in the 1990s. It is less discussed now.
India rejects Pakistan’s claim to this area. We abide by international law. We are also developing infrastructure there to protect our territory.
Harami Nala
Special operations were carried out in remote areas as well as in the creeks and the Harami Nala. Located in the Kutch region of Gujarat, the Harami Nala is a 22-kilometer-long sea route between India and Pakistan. The Sir Creek area is the 96-kilometer-long disputed border between the two countries. This long drain is a haven for infiltrators and smugglers. This is why it has become a dirty drain. The water level here fluctuates according to the tides and weather, making it considered dangerous.
LED Lights
After installing them in Rajasthan in 2017-18, it was decided to replace the sodium floodlights along the Gujarat border with LED lights in 2021.
In the Rann of Kutch region of Gujarat, 11,800 sodium lights were installed on 2,970 poles spanning 508 kilometers. Each pole has four lights. One pole consumes 12 units of electricity at night.
The 3,323-kilometer land border between Pakistan and India is a land border. India has fenced most of this area and installed floodlights along a 2,009-kilometer stretch for nighttime surveillance. The replacement of floodlights in Punjab and Rajasthan has been completed. (Google translation from Gujarati)
