Pakistan has shot down an Indian spy drone along their disputed border in Kashmir, its army said on Tuesday, as tension flares over an attack by militants last week that killed 26 people.
The unmanned drone breached the so-called Line of Control that divides Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistani-run territory, Pakistan’s state-run television channel quoted security personnel as saying.
Both sides have shot down small drones in the past, with the devices often used for surveillance at the border. But the latest incident comes as relations deteriorate rapidly, after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. The violence on April 22 was the deadliest attack on civilians in the region in years.
India retaliated by telling Pakistani visa-holders to leave the country, closing a border crossing, expelling diplomats and suspending a water-sharing treaty. Pakistan said on Tuesday that it was preparing legal action in the water dispute, including a possible case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made a bid for calm by speaking separately to India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday. Mr Guterres said a conflict could have “tragic consequences”, while Mr Sharif said the UN chief should “counsel India” to show restraint.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have been working to prevent conflict. Iran has already offered to mediate and Riyadh has said it was trying to “prevent an escalation”.
Pakistan's state radio broadcaster reported that the country's military shot down the Indian “quadcopter” in the Manawar sector of the Bhimber area.
The aircraft breached Pakistani air space and was attempting to conduct surveillance, the Radio Pakistan report said. It did not say when the incident happened.
There was no comment on the drone from New Delhi, but the Indian army said both sides exchanged fire for a fifth straight night along the Line of Control, a heavily fortified zone of high-altitude Himalayan outposts.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since they gained independence from British occupation in 1947. Both countries claim the region in full. Militants in Indian-run territory have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking independence or to join Pakistan.
The UN has urged India and Pakistan to show “maximum restraint” in their latest dispute. Both countries have exchanged diplomatic criticism and expelled citizens, while a border crossing was closed after the April 22 attack.
On Tuesday, Pakistan's Defence Minister warned of the possibility of war. “If something has to happen, it will happen in two or three days,” Khawaja Asif told Pakistani media outlet Geo News. “There is an immediate threat.”
US President Donald Trump has played down the tension, saying on Friday that the dispute will get “figured out, one way or another”.
