What started out as a goodwill gesture, when Pakistan refuelled an Indian army chopper and sent it back after it had strayed across the Line of Control (LoC) on Sunday, has now turned into a blame game with officials in New Delhi alleging that Pakistani authorities “stole” data from the helicopter.
The Hindustan Times quoted unnamed Indian government officials as saying that the incident was being probed at a high level as the GPS data of the helicopter was found wiped out, along with nicknames and code signs of all the helipads in the 14 Corps area.
The Nemu, Leh-based 14 Corps is responsible for the defence of Kargil-Leh, Siachen Glacier and the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with Tibet.
“We are treating the incident with utmost concern as the coordinates of all helipads in the 14 Corps including Siachen Glacier and LAC are now with the Pakistan army, along with code signs and nicknames,” said a senior Indian official.
Denying the reports, Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Athar Abbas said, “The news is incorrect.”
Refusing to comment any further on the matter, the DG’s reaction came on Tuesday amid reports by the Indian media claiming that the Pakistan army had downloaded the GPS coordinates of all helipads from the Indian army chopper that had wandered into Pakistani territory.
Senior officials said the Indian crew was being questioned as the Cheetah was equipped with GPS and hence, there was no reason for the machine to have strayed into Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
To add insult to injury, the Pakistan artillery helipad (with number 90), on which the Cheetah landed in the Marol area just across the LoC in Kargil sector, was not known to the Indian army. The Pakistan army allowed the chopper to return to Kargil after refuelling the machine and providing directions to the pilots.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2011.
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