New Delhi: The Pakistan Army on Saturday claimed to have shot down an “Indian spying quadcopter” allegedly intruding across the Line of Control (LoC).
Military spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar said that the mini copter violated the country’s airspace in Khanjar sector of the LoC. “The quadcopter had intruded 500 metres on Pakistan’s side of the LoC, he said in a statement reported by several media outlets.
The spokesman claimed that it was the eighth Indian quadcopter to be shot down by the Pakistan Army troops this year. Last month, two such quadcopters were downed, the first on May 27 and the second on May 29 after they allegedly intruded deep inside the Pakistani territory, he said.
India has dismissed previous such claims by the Pakistan Army. The ties between the two nations strained following the Balakot strike when the Indian Air Force jets bombed a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Pakistan on February 26 last year to avenge the killing of 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in the Pulwama attack on February 14.
Pakistan retaliated on February 27 by attempting to target Indian military installations. The ties further nose-dived after New Delhi abrogated Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir in August last year. Pakistan downgraded diplomatic relations with India and expelled the Indian High Commissioner.
