Pakistan naval ship collides with Indian Navy unit, India lodges protest
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New Delhi: India on Wednesday lodged a strong protest with the Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission after a Pakistani naval ship collided with an Indian Navy unit following what the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described as an “unprofessional and unacceptable” manoeuvre at sea.
According to sources, the incident took place on the evening of September 15 in the North Arabian Sea when a Pakistan Naval Ship approached a frontline Indian Naval unit that was on a routine surveillance mission. The Pakistani vessel was reportedly moving at high speed and manoeuvring in an “unprofessional and unsafe manner”, resulting in the collision.
No damage has been reported in the incident.
The Pakistani envoy was summoned to the MEA in New Delhi, where India conveyed its strong objection to the incident.
In a statement, the MEA said, “The Charge d’Affaires of the High Commission for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in New Delhi was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs today and a strong protest was lodged with him over the unacceptable and unprofessional conduct of Pakistani naval units at sea that led to a collision with a unit of the Indian Navy.”
The MEA said the incident occurred in international waters and did not cause any major damage. However, it said the conduct of the Pakistani naval ship was in direct contravention of Article 10 of the Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements of April 1991.
The Ministry said the Pakistani Charge d’Affaires was asked to convey to the concerned Pakistani authorities that all military units should exercise due care and respect the provisions of the relevant agreements between the two countries.
“The Charge d’Affaires of Pakistan was advised to convey to the concerned Pakistani authorities the need for all military units to observe due care and respect the provisions of the relevant agreements between the two sides in order to prevent any repeat of such incidents,” the MEA said.
It added that the Charge d’Affaires of India in Islamabad had also been instructed to lodge a similar protest with Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
With IANS inputs