Pakistan still silent over boat incident

Pakistani officials have maintained silence over the boat incident, insisting that the vessel did not originate from Keti Bunder as reported in the Indian media.

Pakistani officials have maintained silence over the boat incident, insisting that the vessel did not originate from Keti Bunder as reported in the Indian media.

"There are many Pakistani boats that are in the custody of the Indian coast guards and we believe that it was one of these boats that was used to stage this drama," an official said but asked not to be named. He said that a formal statement on the matter is expected to be issued by the Pakistan Foreign Office.

Defence analyst Jamshed Ayaz told the media on Friday that the possibility of a Pakistani boat entering deep into Indian waters was "quite impossible" and insisted that the Indian government was behind this incident.

He said that such incidents have been created in the past to put pressure on Pakistan at a time when the situation in the country was critical.

"We saw this happen when an Indian plane was hijacked and brought to Pakistan during the East Pakistan crisis," said Ayaz, adding "possibly the Indian authorities want to do something similar at a time when the country was engaged in a war with terrorists."

Other analysts, however, commented that a Pakistani intrusion was possible. Reporter Abid Husain of Herald Magazine commented that in the past too Pakistani intelligence agencies have conducted dry runs into Indian waters.

He said that this was also possibly a dry run and that the occupants of the boat were under instructions to blow themselves up if detected. "In many ways it was a failure on the Indian side given how deep the Pakistani boat made its way," he added.

The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, a representative body of fishermen on the Pakistani side of the border, insisted that the boat did not belong to any Pakistani fisherman.