Pakistan summons Indian envoy over airspace violation

Islamabad: Pakistan summoned a senior Indian envoy in Islamabad on Thursday to protest a recent alleged violation of its airspace by the Indian air force, a foreign ministry spokesman said.

Last Saturday Pakistan said Indian warplanes crossed into Pakistani airspace over Kashmir and Punjab, an allegation that India denies.

Pakistan said its own fighter jets were scrambled to chase off the intruders, but it also played down the incident by describing the violations as "technical" and "inadvertent".

India's deputy high commissioner, Manpreet Vohra, was given a written protest against the intrusions, saying they breached a 1991 agreement aimed at preventing such incidents, the foreign ministry spokesman said.
The violations come at a time of heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals in the wake of last month's attacks on Mumbai.