A Pakistani citizen who arrived at Karnataka’s Karwar Port aboard the cargo vessel MT R Ocean was denied entry into India by port authorities, officials said on Thursday.

The ship, carrying bitumen from Iraq, docked on May 12 with 15 Indian crew members, two Syrians, and one Pakistani national on board.

India has banned Pakistani nationals from entering the country and has also cancelled visas amid the existing tensions between the two countries following the April 22 Pahalgam attack, in which 26 civilians were gunned down by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

Taking swift action, officials prevented the Pakistani citizen from stepping onto Indian soil and seized his mobile phone and documents with the help of the ship’s captain. The Coastal Police were immediately alerted and coordinated with the Port Department to enforce the restriction.

“We shared the information with intelligence agencies and the Karwar Police. They instructed us not to allow the Pakistani national to disembark and directed that his mobile phone be seized, so that he doesn’t take any photographs of the port and be kept in a secure locker. The ship departed for Sharjah yesterday morning at 9:20 AM,” Nitesh, Administrative Assistant (In-Charge), Karwar Port, said.

Authorities reiterated that vessels from Pakistan and China are not permitted entry into Indian ports.

“According to the DGCA circular, we do not permit entry to ships bearing the Pakistani flag. Our ships also do not go to their ports, and their ships are not allowed into ours. There are similar instructions regarding Chinese ships as well,” he added.

Since China is supporting Pakistan, Indian authorities have been given specific instructions about Chinese vessels. “We strictly follow DGCA norms and do not allow ships flagged by Pakistan or China to dock at Indian ports”.