It was a civilian chopper flying within Pak's limits, Indian army should not have opened fire: PoK PM

While talking to Dawn News, PoK "Prime Minister" Raja Farooq Haider who was travelling in the helicopter said that in case of military helicopters both the countries intimate each other, but since it was a civilian helicopter there was no need to inform Indian army.

New Delhi: A day after a white Pakistani helicopter was sighted hovering in Indian airspace, Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) “Prime Minister” Raja Farooq Haider, who was travelling in the chopper, has marked protest against the firing opened by Indian army.Claiming that the white chopper was a civilian carrier, Haider has said that it was well within Pakistani limits and Indian army should not have opened fire at it. He said that he would take up the matter formally with the Pakistan government for “appropriate action”. On Sunday afternoon, Indian Army said that a Pakistani chopper violated the airspace along the line of control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir but withdrew after air sentries opened fire at it. The helicopter was sighted at around 12:15 pm to 12:20 pm in the Indian airspace in Gulpur sector. However, while speaking to Dawn, Haider claimed that though the chopper was “very close “to the LoC, it was well within Pakistan’s airspace. He further claimed that the helicopter was not a military one but a civilian one, therefore, there was no need to inform the Indian authorities about the flight. The PML-N leader said he was travelling with two of his “ministers” and his personal staff officer in a civilian white aircraft on Sunday when it was met with attacks near Abbaspur village. “I had gone to Forward Kahuta to condole the death of the brother of one of my ministers and meet the residents of the area adjacent to the LoC. While we were passing through Abbaspur, the Indian army suddenly opened fire at my helicopter. Luckily, we remained unhurt and the helicopter was not damaged," Haider was quoted as saying by Dawn. “We were very close to zero line but we were within our space. Moreover, it was a civilian helicopter so the Indian army should not have opened fire at it," Haider told Dawn. As per the report, Haider maintained that military helicopters intimate each other before flying following the standard operating protocol but since it was a civilian helicopter there was no need to inform about its flight. He said that he frequently travels in the area but such incident had never happened. The Pakistan Foreign Office has not commented on the incident so far.