India rejects Pakistan's claim on 'spy drone'

New Delhi, July 16: India on Thursday rubbished Pakistan's allegations that the "spy drone" it claimed to have downed belonged to Indian security forces, saying it appeared to be of Chinese design which is commercially available off the shelf.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, flatly denying Pakistan's allegations, said the drone does not belong to India and that inventory of Indian armed forces do not have any such UAV.

"The photograph of the drone in question indicates that it is not of Indian design, nor of any UAV category held in the inventory of the Indian armed forces. It appears to be of Chinese design, and is commercially available off the shelf," he said.

According to experts, the drone resembles Chinese-made DJI Phantom 3 and it looked similar to the quad copters acquired by police of Pakistan's Punjab province for surveillance.

The Pakistan Army yesterday claimed to have shot down an Indian "spy" drone which it alleged violated Pakistani airspace and was being used for aerial photography near the Line of Control (LoC).

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a brief statement, said the Indian drone was brought down near the LoC in Bhimber area of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian Army as well as the Indian Air Force (IAF) have already denied the allegations.

This comes after tension along the LoC following firing and mortar shelling

India's rebuttal to Pakistan's allegations came amid escalating tension along the LoC following firing and mortar shelling by Pakistani forces.

Indian forces have responded to the Pakistani action. Earlier in the day, Pakistan summoned India's High Commissioner TCA Raghavan to the Foreign Office in Islamabad and lodged strong protest over "air space violation" by the "spy" drone near the LoC and "ceasefire violation".

High Commissioner was called to the Foreign Office by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry to lodge the protest over air space violation at Banchirian Sector near LoC yesterday, said a statement issued by the Pakistan Foreign Office.

PTI