JAMMU, Feb 6 (2003) – The military said on Thursday it had shot down a pilotless Pakistani spy plane which intruded into Indian airspace in disputed Kashmir.
The Indian report of the downing on Wednesday of the unmanned aircraft came just over a week after Pakistan said it had shot down a pilotless Indian spy plane after it crossed Pakistani airspace in the Himalayan region of Kashmir.
“The movement of this unmanned (Pakistani) aerial vehicle was observed in the afternoon (Wednesday) and was knocked down immediately,” Lieutenant Colonel Bhanwar Rathore told Reuters, adding the debris fell near the Indian side of the Line of Control that divides Pakistani and Indian forces in Kashmir.
The plane was shot down in the Mendhar sector of the Poonch district, 250 km (160 miles) north of Jammu, Kashmir’s winter capital, the defence official said. Both sides often report intrusions by unmanned spy planes into each other’s air space.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of arming militants who have been fighting Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir since 1989. Pakistan denies the charge, saying it only provides moral support to what it calls a legitimate freedom struggle by Kashmiris.
