Pakistan denies drone flight over Indian High Commission

A Pakistani paramilitary trooper stands vigilant in front of the Indian High Commission building in Islamabad, 08 February 2003. (AFP/ File)

• India’s External Affairs Ministry recently claimed such an incident in Islamabad, saying it had officially taken up the matter with Pakistani authorities
• Pakistan says New Delhi’s ‘propaganda campaign’ coincided with an investigation in a recent explosion in Lahore in which evidence pointed at India’s possible involvement

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday rejected New Delhi’s allegation that a drone flew over the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, calling it a “preposterous” claim.
“We have seen the Indian MEA’s [Ministry of External Affairs’] statement and reports in certain sections of the Indian media alleging a drone flying over the premises of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad,” said the foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri. “These preposterous claims have no basis in facts and no proof whatsoever has been shared with Pakistan to substantiate these allegations.”
He added that Pakistan rejected such “patently false allegations” and considered them to be part of New Delhi’s diversionary tactic to remove international attention from people’s struggle for the right of self-determination in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“Curiously, this propaganda campaign by India is also happening at a time when evidence so far collected in the Lahore blast of 23 June is increasingly pointing to external forces with a history of perpetrating state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan,” he maintained.
India’s external affairs ministry had earlier made a claim that a drone flew over its diplomatic mission in Islamabad last month, adding it had officially taken up the issue with Pakistan and expected its officials to investigate the matter to prevent such incidents from happening again.
A few days ago, Indian officials had also claimed that Pakistan was involved in an alleged drone attack on an air force facility in Indian administered Kashmir.
The foreign office denied that claim as well, saying that the Indian authorities were once again playing the “Pakistan card” for domestic political consumption.