The Indian Army on Sunday claimed a Pakistan helicopter violated the airspace agreement between the two countries when it entered Indian territory in Pir Panjal valley of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the helicopter turned back after it was engaged by air sentries. Army PRO Lt. Col Devendra Anand said that the air violation happened at 12:10 when a helicopter entered the Indian airspace near the Line of Control (LoC).
In a statement issued yesterday, Col Anand said that the helicopter was most likely a civilian chopper and was flying very high. He said that air sentries at the forward location engaged it with small arms.
“The helicopter withdrew into Pakistani territory after a few minutes,” he said.
Watch video: Pakistan helicopter flies into Indian territory near LoC
Meanwhile, a report in Pakistan’s news website Dawn claimed that Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, his two ministers and staff were on board the helicopter when it came under attack from Indian troops. It said that the PM and others escaped unhurt. It said that the incident happened near Abbaspur village when the PM and others were going to meet one of Cabinet ministers to condole the demise of his brother.
Speaking to The Indian Express, PoK Tourism minister Mushtaq Minhas said that he, Education minister Iftikar Gilani and PM’s personal security officer were present inside the chopper when Indian jawans opened fire on them. Minhas, however, said that they were unaware of the fact that the helicopter was flying inside the Indian territory.
“We had no idea that we had breached, nor did we know that we were being fired at. When we landed at our destination, we learnt that there was firing on our chopper from the Indian side,” he told the daily.
The minister claimed that the pilot of the helicopter – a European EC130 B4 operated by a private firm, didn’t get any message from the ATC about violation of airspace. He said that this was perhaps because it was not a government or military helicopter.
Minhas said that it was a private visit, adding that initially they were slated to undertake the journey in the night a day before, but rearranged it. He said that by road it takes around seven hours to reach Smahni, therefore they decided to take the air route.
“We had to go to a place called Smahni for a condolence visit. It is a seven hours journey by the road. So we decided that it would be best to go by helicopter,” the minister explained. He added that they stopped at Forward Kathua to meet locals in an area which is surrounded by LoC from threes sides.
The IE report said that according to Standard Operating Procedure, two IAF fighter jets were airborne as soon as the Army reported about the violation of airspace by Pakistan. But they were not required as it returned. Minhas also rejected reports that it was a plot by Pakistan Army to assassinate the PoK PM.