‘Same old stalling as expected’: India hits back at Pakistan over naval collision response

Speaking on the naval collision incident, MEA's Randhir Jaiswal said India had expected what he described as "the same old stalling" from Pakistan.

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India on Friday rejected Pakistan's response to its protest over the collision between the Pakistan Navy vessel PNS Hunain and Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata in the western Arabian Sea, calling the Pakistani allegations and insinuations "categorically" unacceptable.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had expected what he described as "the same old stalling" from Pakistan, while asserting that INS Kolkata was on a routine deployment when the incident occurred.

“We have seen Pakistan's response to the protest we lodged. This is the same old stalling we expected. We categorically reject the allegations and insinuations made therein. INS Kolkata was on a routine deployment in the western Arabian Sea when the Pakistan Navy ship PNS Hunain behaved in an unacceptable and unprofessional manner at sea, resulting in the collision,” Jaiswal said at a routine MEA briefing on Friday.

"The dangerous overtaking manoeuvre by PNS Hunain was a gross violation of Article 10 of the Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements of April 1991," Jaiswal said.

He added: "This article stipulates that naval units at sea should not come within three nautical miles of each other. Furthermore, the Pakistani ship also violated the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. The Pakistani side has once again been advised that, to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, all their military units need to exercise due caution and respect the provisions of the relevant agreements between the two sides. INS Kolkata has not suffered any major damage from this incident and remains at sea."

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Jaiswal's remarks comes two days after India's strong protest and Pakistan response over a Pakistani warship colliding with an Indian frontline warship in the Arabian Sea after manoeuvring in an unprofessional and unsafe manner.

On the evening of September 15, a Pakistan Navy vessel closed in on a frontline Indian Navy warship that was on a routine surveillance mission in the north Arabian Sea at high speed, HT earlier reported, citing officials aware of the matter said. The Pakistani vessel manoeuvred in an unprofessional and unsafe manner and this led to a collision, the officials said.

In a statement on Wednesday, India said it had lodged a strong protest with the Charge d'Affaires of the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi over what it called "unacceptable and unprofessional conduct" of the naval unit.

"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 said.

On the same day, Pakistan also reportedly summoned India's Charge d'Affaires in Islamabad, lodging its complaint against what it called a "highly provocative and unacceptable" action by India's naval vessel.

According to the MEA, INS Kolkata did not suffered any major damage and remains deployed at sea.

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