Pak breaches pact; jets fly near Indian airspace

NEW DELHI: In the second such incident within 30 days to possibly probe India's air defence network along the J&K border, Pakistani military aircraft virtually violated Indian airspace in the R S Pura sector near Jammu on Wednesday.

Sources said BSF ground-based mobile observation posts spotted two Pakistani ''light military aircraft'' cruising along the border on Wednesday, with some reports even holding the planes actually crossed over into Indian airspace for some time to fly over four Indian border posts.

Even if the aircraft did not actually enter Indian airspace, the incident clearly violates the two decade-old agreement between India and Pakistan, which lays down that fighters or other military aircraft should not fly within 10km of each other's airspace.

''The Pakistani aircraft were probably checking our air defence capabilities, radar coverage and reaction time...it's a usual military tactic to probe an adversary's defences,'' said an official. This comes close after three Pakistani fighters flew close to the border on December 21.