Indian fighter jets violated an agreed border between the two countries, the Pakistani army said on Tuesday, as tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals rose following a major terrorist attack in Kashmir earlier this month.
“Indian aircraft intruded from Muzafarabad sector,’ Major General Asif Ghafoor, spokesman of the Pakistan Armed Forces, said in a Twitter post, adding that it was dealt with by the Pakistan Air Force. “Facing timely and effective response from Pakistan Air Force released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot. No casualties or damage.”
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Indian defence ministry spokesman Colonel Aman Anand did not respond to a call and text for comment. Indian foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar declined to comment when reached by phone on Tuesday morning.
Relations between the arch-rivals has been extremely tense since a suicide car bombing, claimed by the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed, on Feb. 14 in Kashmir killed 40 members of India’s security forces. Jaish-e-Mohammed is a United Nations designated terrorist group.
The Indian rupee weakened offshore, with one-month non-deliverable forward trading at 71.32 a dollar before local markets open.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)