Pak copter flies close to Poonch LoC

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 21

A Pakistan army helicopter  came within 300 metres of the Line of Control (LoC) in Gulpur area of Poonch sector this morning. Under the norms, an aircraft cannot fly within 1 km of the LoC on either side.

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According to the Indian Army, the helicopter was seen along the LoC between 9.45 am and 10 am. Though there were reports of another airspace violation around 1.30 pm, the Army denied it.

“A Pakistani helicopter came here 300 metres on the LoC on their side and went back. The incident occurred in the general area of Poonch. There was no firing or any hostile action by any side,” said a New Delhi-based Army spokesperson. “There was only one occurrence between 9.45 am and 10 am.”

The incident occurred in the Gulpur area, where the Army had on Monday foiled a Border Action Team (BAT) attempt to infiltrate militants by killing an armed intruder. The Army had recovered a huge cache of arms.

In October, Pakistani helicopters were seen in Nowshera sector, but the Army denied any airspace violation. On August 29, 2016, Pakistani helicopters had crossed the International Border in Arnia sector, prompting the BSF to lodge a complaint.