The Pakistan Navy detected an Indian submarine on Monday night trying to enter Pakistani waters and successfully thwarted the attempt, the Navy's spokesperson said on Tuesday — exactly a week after India's aerial violation of the Line of Control that sent tensions soaring between the two nuclear-armed states.

"The Pakistan Navy used its specialised skills to ward off the submarine, successfully keeping it from entering Pakistani waters," a statement from the spokesperson said.

This is the second time since 2016 that the Pakistan Navy has detected an Indian submarine trying to enter Pakistani waters. Pakistan territorial waters is 12 nautical miles while its seabed territory — the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) — grew to 290,000 square kilometres in 2015. EEZ signifies an area of coastal water and seabed within a certain distance of a country's coastline that cannot be entered without permission or prior information.

Screenshot from the footage shared by Pakistan Navy shows the Indian submarine detected on Monday night.
Screenshot from the footage shared by Pakistan Navy shows the Indian submarine detected on Monday night.

"The submarine was detected and localised in Pakistan’s maritime zone on March 4," said a statement by the director general of Navy's public relations. "The submarine could have been easily engaged and destroyed had it not been Pakistan’s policy to exercise restraint in the face of Indian aggression and to give peace a chance to prevail.

"However, the submarine is being kept under watch along with monitoring of other Indian navy units. The detected submarine is one of the latest submarines of Indian navy," added the statement.

Read: It is nice to be on the right side of war

Learning from this incident, India should also work towards peace, the statement added.

"This great feat is a testament of the Pakistan Navy's superior skills. The Navy will keep defending Pakistan's naval border. The force has the capability to respond to any aggression."

The latest provocation by India comes a week after the Indian Air Force (IAF) violated Pakistani airspace on February 26 following the Pulwama attack in Indian occupied Kashmir. The IAF returned unsuccessful after the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) "immediately scrambled" its jets. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Indian aircraft released their payload "in haste" as they returned.

Read: 'Challenges not over yet, keep your guard up,' Air chief tells PAF personnel

PAF the next day, on Feb 27, targeted non-military targets across the Line of Control to demonstrate Pakistan's aggressive capabilities, and shot down two Indian Air Force jets after they crossed the LoC.

An Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan, was taken into captivity of Pakistan's armed forces. He was freed the next day and handed over to Indian authorities at Wagah border. Prime Minister Imran Khan had termed his release as a "peace gesture" — a move lauded by people on both sides of the border as well as the international community that had urged restraint.

No such move or gesture for de-escalation, however, has been made by India so far.

Opinion

Editorial

Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...
By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...