Pak chopper enters India, army fires warning shots
JAMMU: A Pakistani chopper violated Indian airspace in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Sunday, a defence spokesperson said, hours before the prime minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir claimed his civilian helicopter was fired upon by Indian forces from across the Line of Control (LOC).
The chopper entered some 700m inside the Indian territory around 12:10pm and flew over Krishna Ghati sector before retreating, said Jammu-based defence spokesperson Lt Col Devender Anand. “Air sentries at forward location had engaged it with small arms,” he said about the move intended to warn the pilot about the intrusion.
A 30-second video of the white helicopter flying in Indian airspace was released by news agency ANI.
Reuters quoted Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s PM Raja Farooq Haider Khan as saying that his civilian helicopter was fired upon by India. “The Indian army fired to show that Pakistan had violated their airspace,” Khan’s office said in a statement, but added “when the firing took place, we were within our own airspace”.
Khan claimed his helicopter was not armed in any way, and called for calm heads. “We do not want any war hysteria in this region,” he said.
Relations between India and Pakistan are tense amid highprofile diplomatic clashes at the United Nations General Assembly over the past two days.
India has accused Pakistan of continuing to assist militants in Kashmir, a charge that Islamabad denies. A meet between highranking officials of the neighbours on the sidelines of UNGA in New York was cancelled after a flare-up of hostilities.