Pak's claims on Indian submarine false propaganda: Navy

The Indian Navy on Tuesday dismissed as "false propaganda" Pakistan's claim that it had thwarted an attempt by an Indian submarine to enter the country's territorial waters.

In a statement, the Pakistan Navy claimed in Islamabad that it used specialised skills to ward off the Indian submarine from entering Pakistani waters.

"We have witnessed Pakistan indulging in false propaganda and spread of misinformation. The Indian Navy does not take cognizance of such propaganda. Our deployments remain undeterred," the Indian Navy said.

In a brief statement, it said the Indian Navy remains deployed as necessary to protect national maritime interests.

The claim by Pakistan Navy came in the midst of latest flare-up between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Pakistan also released a purported video of what it alleged as an Indian submarine trying to sneak into Pakistani waters. The image showed that the footage was made at 2035 hours on March 4.

Official sources here said no Indian submarine was near Pakistani waters and all the major powers having presence in the Indian Ocean knew that no Indian naval asset was in the vicinity of Pakistani waters.

The Indian and Pakistani navies were engaged in a confrontation during the 1971 war.

"The Pakistan Navy used its specialised skills to ward off the submarine, successfully keeping it from entering Pakistani waters," a spokesperson of Pakistan Navy claimed.

"The Indian submarine was not targeted keeping in view Pakistan's policy of peace," the official said, adding that India must learn from this incident and "move towards peace".

"The Pakistan Navy is always ready to guard its territorial waters and is capable of responding to any kind of aggression with full force," he said.

After the Pulwama attack, the Indian Air Force carried out a counter-terror operation, hitting a JeM training camp in Balakot, deep inside Pakistan on February 26.

The next day, Pakistan Air Force tried to target Indian military installation in Kashmir but was thwarted by the IAF which lost a MiG-21 while its pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was captured. He was handed over to India on Friday.