Just a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj assailed Pakistan at the United Nations General Assembly for nurturing and backing terrorism in the region, a Pakistan Army helicopter was spotted violating the Indian airspace on Sunday.
The white-colour helicopter crossed the Line of Control (LOC) in the Poonch sector of Jammu-Kashmir and flew over the Gulpur and Digwar villages along the LOC for two minutes before returning to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK).
Warning shots were fired at the chopper from Indian Army positions while it was on this side of the LoC.
Army spokesman Lt Colonel Devender Anand said that the violation took place at about 12.10 pm.
Reports said that the helicopter intruded about 700 metres into the Indian airspace near the Nole post in the Gulpur sub-sector.
Pakistani media said that Raja Farooq Haider, the so-called ‘Prime Minister of Pak-occupied Kashmir’, was on board the helicopter and was flying to village Tarori in PoK.
Speaking at the UNGA on Saturday, Swaraj had torn into Pakistan and its newly-elected Prime Minister Imran Khan over multiple transgressions along the LoC and the international border, and for harbouring globally-wanted terrorists on its soil.
“World’s dreaded terrorists are called freedom fighters in Pakistan. Their nefarious acts are called heroism and they are hailed as heroes in the country,” Swaraj said in a sharp message that exposed India’s neighbour as a principal sponsor of terrorism in the region and a threat for the world.
Swaraj also slammed Khan’s recent statement in which he accused India of “sabotaging” chances of dialogue.
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“This is a complete lie. We believe that talks are only rational means to resolve the most complex of disputes. Talks with Pakistan have begun many times. If they stopped, it was only because of their behaviour,” said Swaraj.
India had called off talks between Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart on the sidelines of UNGA following the killing and mutilation of a BSF jawan along the international border, killings of policemen in Jammu-Kashmir and a series of provocations including release of stamps in Pakistan praising Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani.
“Our neighbour’s expertise is not restricted to spawning grounds for terrorism; it is also an expert in trying to mask malevolence with verbal duplicity,” she said highlighting the reaction of the Pakistani government after Osama bin Laden was found hiding in the country.