FM Qureshi chairs emergency consultative meeting at FO

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday chaired an emergency consultative meeting at the Foreign Office following a breach of the Line of Control (LoC) by Indian military aircraft.

The meeting, which is being attended by former foreign secretaries and senior diplomats, is holding consultations over the situation arising in the aftermath of the intrusion by Indian aircraft earlier today. 

 

Indian military aircraft violated the LoC as they "intruded" from the Muzafarabad sector and were forced to return owing to the timely response of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said early Tuesday.

The Indian aircraft "released payload in haste while escaping which fell near Balakot". There were "no casualties or damage", director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) wrote on Twitter.

Maj Gen Ghafoor tweeted images of the "payload of hastily escaping Indian aircraft" which "fell in [the] open".

Payload of hastily escaping Indian aircrafts fell in open. pic.twitter.com/8drYtNGMsm

— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 26, 2019

Earlier, he had said: "Indian Air Force violated Line of Control. Pakistan Air Force immediately scrambled. Indian aircraft gone back. Details to follow."

The incursion into the Pakistan air space follows a series of threats by Indian political and military leadership following the attack on an Indian Army convoy at Pulwama by a local youth, in reaction to the oppression unleashed by the occupational forces.