The Pakistan Navy detected an Indian submarine on Monday night trying to enter Pakistani waters and successfully thwarted the attempt, the Navy’s spokesperson said on Tuesday — exactly a week after India’saerial violation of the Line of Control that sent tensions soaring between the two nuclear-armed states.
“The Pakistan Navy used its specialised skills to ward off the submarine, successfully keeping it from entering Pakistani waters,” a statement from the spokesperson said.
This is the second time the Pakistan Navy has detected an Indian submarine trying to enter Pakistani waters since 2016. Pakistan territorial waters is 12 nautical miles. In 2015, after a UN body accepted Islamabad’s claim for extension of sea limits, Pakistan’s seabed territory — the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) — grew to 290,000 square kilometres. EEZ signifies an area of coastal water and seabed within a certain distance of a country’s coastline that cannot be entered without permission or prior information.
The fact that an Indian submarine laden with modern technology was detected by the Pakistan Navy is a loss for the Indian navy, said the spokesperson, adding: “Keeping the government’s initiative of peace in mind, the Indian submarine was not targetted by the Pakistan Navy.”
Learning from this incident, India should also work towards peace, the statement added.
“This great feat is a testament of the Pakistan Navy’s superior skills. The Navy will keep defending Pakistan’s naval border. The force has the capability to respond to any aggression.”
The latest provocation by India comes a week after the Indian Air Force (IAF) violated Pakistani airspace on February 26. The IAF returned unsuccessful after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) “immediately scrambled” its jets. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Indian aircraft released their payload “in haste” as they returned.
PAF the next day, on Feb 27, targeted non-military targets across the Line of Control to demonstrate Pakistan’s aggressive capabilities, and shot down two Indian Air Force jets after they crossed the LoC.
An Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, was taken into captivity of Pakistan’s armed forces. While Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered the pilot’s release as a “peace gesture”, no such move has been made from India for de-escalation between the two neighbours.
