Pakistan navy says it stopped Indian sub from entering its waters
KARACHI: Pakistan has stopped an Indian submarine from entering its waters, the navy said yesterday, as tensions continue to run high between the nucleararmed foes.
The development came days after a rare aerial dogfight between India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir ignited fears of an all-out conflict, with world powers rushing to urge restraint.
“The Pakistan navy stopped an Indian submarine from entering our territorial waters,” a naval spokesman said in a statement.
He said “the Indian submarine was not targeted in line with the government’s policy of maintaining peace”.
It was the first such incident since 2016, when Pakistan said it had “pushed” an Indian submarine away from Pakistani waters.
The spokesman did not give further details, including when or where the submarine was detected. It was also not clear if they meant the 22 kilometre territorial waters limit or the broader 370 kilometre exclusive economic zone.
The navy also released what it said was video of the submarine, with the grainy black and white footage showing only what appeared to be a periscope above water.
The timestamp on the video clip shows it began at 8.35pm on Monday.
In recent days, the nucleararmed Asian countries have come closer to conflict than in years, after a suicide bombing in Indianadministered Kashmir killed 40 Indian paramilitaries.
A militant group based in Pakistan claimed responsibility for the Feb 14 blast. — AFP