Pakistan shoots down Indian quadcopter violating airspace near LoC – Pakistan

The Pakistan Army on Tuesday shot down an Indian quadcopter drone near the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), state media reported, as tensions between the two countries linger on in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.

The April 22 attack killed 26 men, 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.

India, without offering any evidence, has implied cross-border linkages of the attackers, while Pakistan has strongly denied any involvement. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for a neutral probe into the incident.

“Pakistan has successfully shot down an Indian quadcopter along the Line of Control, thwarting a violation of its airspace,” state-run Radio Pakistan and PTV News reported, citing security sources.

Specifying the location, security sources said the “enemy attempted to conduct surveillance using a quadcopter” in the Manawar sector of Bhimber district in AJK.

“The Pakistan Army, through timely action, foiled this nefarious attempt by the enemy,” the report added.

The security sources termed the incident a “clear testimony to the vigilance, professional skill and defensive preparedness of the Pakistan Army”.

“The Pakistan Army is always ready to give an immediate and effective response to any aggression from the enemy,” the report read, adding that the entire nation stood “united with the armed forces to give a befitting response to the enemy on every front”.

The development comes as Indian and Pakistani soldiers reportedly traded fire along the LoC for a fifth straight night, after four years of relative calm.

The Indian army said its soldiers and Pakistani forces fired at each other overnight. There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan.

India said that overnight from Monday to Tuesday, the gunfire took place in areas opposite the Kupwara and Baramulla districts in held Kashmir, as well as in the Akhnoor sector.

There were no reports of casualties.

In the latest of this heated debate, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif yesterday said Pakistan was ready for any incursion by India.

“We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now. So in that situation, some strategic decisions have to be taken, so those decisions have been taken,” Asif told Reuters.

He said the military had briefed the government on the possibility of an Indian attack, but did not go into further details on his reasons for thinking an incursion was imminent.

In an interview with Samaa TV, Asif warned there was a “war looming on the horizon”, and later told Geo News that the “next two to three days were crucial”.

Calls have also grown from Indian politicians and others for military action against Pakistan. Analysts say they fear bellicose statements will escalate into possible military action.

Pakistan preparing to challenge Indus Waters Treaty suspension: Aqeel Malik

Pakistan is preparing international legal action over India’s suspension of the critical Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), Minister of State for Law and Justice Aqeel Malik told Reuters late on Monday.

Malik said Islamabad was working on plans for at least three different legal options, including raising the issue at the World Bank, the treaty’s facilitator.

It was also considering taking action at the Permanent Court of Arbitration or at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, where it could allege that India has violated the 1960 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, he said.

“Legal strategy consultations are almost complete,” Malik said, adding the decision on which cases to pursue would be made “soon” and would likely include pursuing more than one avenue.

India’s water resources officials did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request seeking comment.

Malik added that a fourth diplomatic option that Islamabad was considering was to raise the issue at the United Nations Security Council.

“All the options are on the table and we are pursuing all appropriate and competent forums to approach,” he said. “The treaty cannot be suspended unilaterally and cannot be held in abeyance, there is not [such a] provision within the treaty,” he asserted.

Since the Pahalgam attack, the nuclear-armed nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other.

India on April 23 unilaterally suspended the IWT — a water-sharing agreement that was brokered by the World Bank and has endured through wars and decades of hostility.

The next day, Pakistan retaliated by threatening to put the Simla Agreement in abeyance and closing its airspace for Indian flights. The National Security Committee (NSC) in Islamabad also said “any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan […] will be considered as an act of war”.

The treaty is an agreement for the distribution and use of waters from the Indus River and its tributaries, which feed 80 per cent of Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture and its hydropower.