ISLAMABAD: Indian fighter jets patrolling above occupied Kashmir were forced to flee after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) scrambled its jets, state media reported on Wednesday, adding to tensions between the two countries in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.
India, without offering any evidence, has implied cross-border linkages of the attackers, while Pakistan’s political and military leadership have strongly denied any involvement. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for a neutral probe into the incident.
The tensions between the arch-rivals have intensified in the past few days, with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif saying Pakistan had reinforced its forces and was ready for any incursion by India, while on the other side, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “operational freedom” to act on the Pahalgam attack.
PTV News and Radio Pakistan, citing security sources, said that four Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were spotted conducting “patrolling overnight” in occupied Kashmir without crossing the Line of Control.
“PAF jets promptly detected the presence of these Indian warplanes,” Radio Pakistan added.
“As a result of PAF’s diligent action, the Indian Rafale jets panicked and were forced to flee,” PTV News reported. The security sources also reaffirmed that the armed forces were “fully prepared and vigilant to give a befitting response to any aggression from India”.
The government and the military have yet to provide details on the incident.
The development comes after Information Minister Attaullah Tarar earlier today said “credible intelligence” reports indicated that India was planning to conduct a military action against Pakistan in the “next 24 to 36 hours”.
In a televised statement issued shortly after 2am, Tarar said: “Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to carry out military action against Pakistan in the next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident.”
The April 22 attack killed 26 people, mostly tourists, and was one of the deadliest armed attacks in the disputed Himalayan region since 2000. Kashmir Resistance, also known as The Resistance Front, said it “unequivocally” denied involvement in the attack, after an initial message that claimed responsibility.
Tarar said Pakistan vehemently rejected “Indian self-assumed hubristic role of judge, jury and executioner in the region” and it was completely “reckless”.
“Pakistan has been the victim of terrorism itself and truly understands the pain of this scourge,” the minister said, adding: “We have always condemned it in all its forms and manifestations anywhere in the world.”
Being a responsible state, Tarar noted, Pakistan “openheartedly offered a credible, transparent and independent investigation” by a neutral commission of experts to ascertain the truth.
“Unfortunately, rather than pursuing the path of reason, India has apparently decided to tread the dangerous path of irrationality and confrontation, which will have catastrophic consequences for the complete region and beyond,” he stressed.
The information minister said the “evasion of credible investigations is in itself sufficient evidence exposing India’s real motives”.
“Consciously making strategic decisions hostage to public sentiments, purposefully trumped up for securing political objectives, is unfortunate and deplorable,” he added.
Tarar reiterated that any such military adventurism by India would be responded to assuredly and decisively.
“The international community must remain alive to the reality that the onus of [an] escalatory spiral and its ensuing consequences shall squarely lie with India.”
He reiterated the nation’s resolve to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan at all costs.
Deputy PM Ishaq Dar has said Pakistan will not strike India but reserves the right to retaliate. He informed the Senate yesterday that intelligence reports suggest that India was contemplating some form of escalation.
Today’s incident also comes after the Pakistan Army yesterday shot down two Indian quadcopters after they violated the country’s airspace along the Line of Control (LoC) in two separate areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.
The first drone was brought down in the Manawar sector of Bhimber district, where it was reportedly engaged in aerial surveillance when intercepted and destroyed by Pakistani troops. The second unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down in Poonch division’s Satwal sector.
The downing of the drones occurred amid continued exchange of fire along the LoC in Leepa Valley since the night of April 25.
Meanwhile, as concerns over a potential breakdown of peace grew, shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced a major fall in intraday trade today.
