India Summons Pakistan Envoy Over Naval Collision At Sea

Pakistani naval unit collides with Indian Navy ship; MEA summons Islamabad's top diplomat

New Delhi, Sep 16

The envoy was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi, where the incident was criticised. India has termed the Pakistani Navy's conduct "unacceptable" and "unprofessional".

The collision, apparently because of Pakistani side's 'inappropriate and unprofessional' manouvre, did not lead to any major damage but the sensitive matter set off alarm bells in the highest security apparatus.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "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."

The MEA said the incident, which took place in international waters, did not cause any major damage, but the Pakistani naval ship's conduct 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.

According to the Ministry, the Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan was asked to convey to the concerned Pakistani authorities that all military units should observe due care and respect the provisions of the relevant agreements between the two nations.

"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 agreements between the two sides in order to prevent any repeat of such incidents," the MEA mentioned in a statement.

"The Charge d'Affaires of India in Islamabad has also been instructed to lodge a similar protest with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," it added.

— IANS