India denies its drone shot down by Pak

INDIAN ARMY SOURCES IN NEW DELHI STRONGLY REJECTED PAK ARMY’S CLAIM OF SHOOTING DOWN THE ‘INDIAN SPY QUADCOPTER’, SAYING NO SUCH INCIDENT HAPPENED ALONG LOC

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army on Wednesday said it shot down an Indian spy quadcopter — an unmanned helicopter with four rotors — flying over the Pakistani side of the Line of Control (LOC) in Bagh Sector on Tuesday, but India strongly dismissed the claim as false.

The Pakistan claim was made by Major General Asif Ghafoor, the director general of Interservices Public Relations (ISPR).

He also released a picture of the quadcopter on his official Twitter handle. “Not even a quadcopter will be allowed to cross [the] LOC, In shaallah (god willing),” Ghafoor tweeted on the social networking site.

However, in New Delhi, the Indian Army sources rejected the Pakistan Army’s contention of shooting down the “Indian spy quadcopter”, saying no such incident happened along the Line of Control.

Local media reported that it was the first Indian spy quadcopter to have been downed after intruding into Pakistani airspace this year.

On Wednesday, the Pakistan Foreign Office summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register a formal protest over the latest alleged ceasefire violations by Indian troops, which reportedly left a woman dead and caused injuries to many others.

The foreign office claimed that Indian forces along the LOC and the working boundary had been targeting populated areas with heavy weapons.

“The Director General (SA & SAARC), Dr Mohammad Faisal, summoned the Indian acting deputy high commissioner and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the LOC on 31st December 2018 in Athmuqam-shahkot Sector,” read a statement issued by the Foreign Office. “In 2018, the Indian forces carried out more than 2,350 ceasefire violations along the LOC and the working boundary, resulting in the Shahadat of 36 innocent civilians, while injuring 142 others,” it said.