The Pakistan Navy on Tuesday claimed it had detected and thwarted an attempt by an Indian Navy submarine to enter its territorial waters. "The Pakistan Navy used its specialised skills to ward off the submarine, successfully keeping it from entering Pakistani waters," a spokesperson said in a statement.
A video of the Indian submarine allegedly entering Pakistani waters was released by the Pakistan Navy. The video, which was shared with the media, was shot from the air and shows the mast of a submarine above water. The image showed that the footage was made at 2035 hours on March 4.
This development comes as tensions flared up between the two nuclear-armed neighbours following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed on February 14.
The Indian submarine was not deliberately targeted by Pakistan to give peace a chance, the spokesperson said. The naval forces claimed that it was the second time since November 2016 that they have caught the Indian Navy trying to enter the country's territorial waters. Earlier in 2016, the Pakistan Navy successfully repelled an Indian submarine from entering the country's territorial waters, the report said.
A QUICK RECAP
Tension mounted between arch-rivals India and Pakistan after Pakistan-based JeM claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed over 40 CRPF jawans in Jammu and Kasmir's Pulwama district on February 14. In retaliation, India carried out a pre-dawn airstrike on a JeM terror camp in Balakot sector at 3:30 am, killing 200-300 terrorists.
A day after, Pakistan Air Force jets entered Indian airspace near LoC and dropped bombs in the country's territory. Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured on February 27 after his MiG-21 Bison was hit by the Pakistan Army across the Line of Control (LoC). Next day, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Abhinandan would be released on March 1 as a "peace gesture"
