India confirmed on Wednesday that its jets had illegally entered Pakistani airspace, but claimed that the incident was a “technical violation”.
The comments come after Pakistan on Tuesday accused Indian jets of briefly violating its airspace, days after India said one of its soldiers had allegedly been killed by Pakistani troops.
An agreement between the rival South Asian neighbors bans their military aircraft from flying within 10 kilometers (six miles) of each other’s airspace or initiate cross-border intrusions.
The jets were taking part in a routine mission along the India-Pakistan border on Tuesday when the incident occurred, Indian Air Force (IAF) spokesperson Priya Joshi said.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that it had “conveyed serious concern to the Indian High Commission (embassy) over the airspace violation” over its eastern province of Punjab.
Pakistan air-force had scrambled two fighter jets after the border crossing by two Indian planes.
“It is clarified that IAF aircraft which were on a routine flying training sortie seem to have flown close to the border and it appears to be a technical violation,” Joshi said in a statement to AFP.
She said the incident has been “conveyed to the Pakistan authorities”.
India accused Pakistan last week of fomenting militancy in the Indian state of Punjab and killing a soldier in cross-border firing. Pakistan rejected both allegations.
The nuclear-armed states have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Each administers part of the territory but claims it in full.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office last week, promising to pursue good relations with India and resolve outstanding disputes such as Kashmir.
