Pakistan summons Indian Cd’A to protest naval ‘provocation’ in its Exclusive Economic Zone

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that it had summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to lodge a strong protest over what it called a “highly provocative and unacceptable” action by an Indian Navy vessel inside Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on September 15. According to the Foreign Office, the incident occurred while the Pakistan Navy was conducting its biennial exercise SEASPARK-26. It said the Indian vessel carried out aggressive maneuvers in dangerously close proximity to a Pakistani naval ship, resulting in contact between the two vessels. Islamabad described the episode as a serious violation of international law and of the bilateral Agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements, signed in 1991, warning that it risked escalating tensions in the region. The Foreign Office said the Indian Chargé d’Affaires was asked to convey to New Delhi that Pakistan “strongly rejects this belligerent Indian action, ” and that India was urged to strictly adhere to international law and bilateral agreements, particularly those aimed at preventing incidents at sea. In a parallel move, Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires in New Delhi is set to lodge the same demarche with India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the statement said. The Foreign Office also called on the international community to press India to “abandon its belligerent posture” and refrain from actions it said could further destabilize South Asia, adding that the region “can ill-afford to remain perpetually hostage to India’s reckless pursuit of conflict and instability. ”

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