Pak aircraft ‘violates’ Indian airspace near Jammu border

JAMMU: A ‘mystery’ plane from Pakistan, suspected to be on a reconnaissance mission, allegedly violated Indian airspace on Monday afternoon in RS Pura sector of

JAMMU: A ‘mystery’ plane from Pakistan, suspected to be on a reconnaissance mission, allegedly violated Indian airspace on Monday afternoon in RS Pura sector of Jammu district.

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“A two-seater aircraft from Pakistan entered the Indian airspace from Vikram border outpost in Arnia sub-sector at around 1.05pm on Monday. It flew inside the Indian territory for four minutes and then returned to Pakistan at around 1.09pm from Sangral post in RS Pura sector,” said an intelligence official.

Confirming the incident, a BSF officer said, “The aircraft was flying high up in the air at around 1.05pm. We are not sure if it violated Indian airspace.”

Last year, both Arnia and RS Pura sub-sectors in Jammu district were subjected to heavy mortar shelling by Pakistan, triggering migration of several villagers from the forward areas.

The incident comes at a time when the border state of Jammu and Kashmir is on the boil since July 8 after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed.

On May 23, 2014, a similar “mystery” plane, initially believed to be from Pakistan on a reconnaissance mission, had violated the Indian airspace in Suchetgarh area of RS Pura sector in Jammu district.

The violation kept the security forces jittery before it turned out to be a Thai Airways flight that had to “deviate from its track due to bad weather”.

The 198km long International Border with Pakistan in Jammu region has always been considered “sensitive” because of infiltration attempts by Pak ultras, frequent ceasefire violations to aid infiltration and to flare up the border, besides attempts at smuggling narcotics and pushing counterfeit Indian currency.