–This is the third spy drone shot down by Pakistani forces in 2019
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Army on Saturday shot down an Indian quadcopter spying along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Rakh Chikri area of Azad Kashmir, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Saturday.
“The quadcopter had come 150 meters inside Pakistan,” ISPR chief Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted.
Pakistan Army troops shot down an Indian spying quadcopter in Rakhchikri Sector along Line of Control.
The quadcopter had come 150 meters inside Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/iOayvEZEff— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) March 16, 2019
Pakistan and India are going through a rough patch in their relationship after 44 Indian troops were killed in suicide bombing in Pulwama district of held-Kashmir.
Following the bombing, India launched an airstrike inside Pakistani territory followed by Pakistani airstrike in occupied Kashmir, shooting down an Indian jet and capturing the pilot. However, Pakistan’s decision to release the pilot and international pressure eventually led to de-escalation in the situation.
Though the tensions subsided considerably after the release of the pilot, the tensions along the LoC remains relatively high, with intermittent firing and shelling.
In in the first week of January, Pakistani forces had shot down two Indian drones in Bagh and Satwal sectors along the LoC after they “intruded in the Pakistani airspace”. “Not even a quadcopter will be allowed to cross LOC, InshaAllah,” General Ghafoor had said at the time.
Eventually, Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat acknowledged to using drones for spying along the border. He accepted the fact that India does send quadcopters over the LoC with the purpose of spying. “Our two quadcopters were shot down by Pakistan,” he disclosed days after Pakistan claimed to shot two of Indian drones.
The top military head also affirmed that India is involved in ceasefire violation on the LoC, despite being aware that the civilian population lives in proximity on Pakistan’s side of the LoC.