Pakistan ship hits Indian Navy boat in Arabian Sea

New Delhi: India on Wednesday summoned Pakistan's charge d'affaires to lodge a "strong protest" over what the government described as the "unacceptable and unprofessional conduct" of a Pakistani Navy unit colliding with an Indian Navy ship in international waters.

"The charge d'affaires of the High Commission for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in New Delhi was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs today and a strong protest was lodged with him over the unacceptable and unprofessional conduct of Pakistani naval units at sea that led to a collision with a unit of the Indian Navy," an MEA statement noted.

While the incident did not cause any major damage, the conduct of the Pakistani naval ship was in direct contravention of Article 10 of the agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements of April 1991, an official noted.


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The charge d'affaires of Pakistan was advised to convey to the concerned Pakistani authorities the need for all military units to observe due care and respect the provisions of the relevant pacts to prevent any repeat of such incidents, according to the MEA statement.

The charge d'affaires of India in Islamabad has been instructed to lodge a similar protest with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan.

The incident occurred in international waters of the Arabian Sea on Tuesday night. Sources said that the Indian warship did not sustain damage or injuries to personnel and continued its operational deployment and patrolling in the area.

They added that the actions of the Pakistani warship were reckless and dangerous, which could have led to a very serious incident at the high seas. The Pakistani vessel is likely to have sustained damage during the incident and is suspected to have left the area for repairs. The incident was recorded by the Indian Navy and evidence of the reckless action by Pakistan has been collected.