A Pakistani helicopter was seen flying in Indian airspace at Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch, following which the Army tried to shoot it down, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. According to norms recognised by both India and Pakistan, helicopters are not supposed to come within one kilometre of the Line of Control or LoC and fixed-wing aircraft within 10 km of the LoC.
In a video, the white Pakistani helicopter is seen flying high near the side of a hill in Poonch. Sound of constant gunfire could be heard, indicating the Army tried to shoot it down.
#WATCH A Pakistani helicopter violated Indian airspace in Poonch sector of #JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/O4QHxCf7CR
— ANI (@ANI) September 30, 2018
The Pakistani helicopter, likely to be a civil aircraft, was first spotted in Indian airspace at 12:13 pm, sources said. The helicopter flew back to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir or PoK moments after it was targeted by the Army with small arms fire. No large-calibre anti-aircraft weapon was used.
In February, a Pakistani helicopter was seen flying 300 metres from the LoC. Today’s incident, however, is being seen as an airspace violation, unlike the previous incident. It is not clear whether the helicopter came to Indian airspace by mistake or on purpose.
“Pakistan is adopting an aggressive posture… This violation of airspace is a serious matter,” Major General Ashwani Siwach (retired) told NDTV on phone. “It needs to be seen how deep the helicopter came inside Indian territory and how long it was in Indian airspace… then only one could make out what could be the aim of this intrusion, is it recce, is it surveillance,” he said.
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