Pakistan slams Indian warship’s EEZ incursion as ‘provocative’, ‘irresponsible’

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Wednesday summoned India’s charge d’affaires of the Indian high commission in Islamabad to deliver a strong protest over a highly provocative and unacceptable action by a vessel of the Indian Navy in the Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on 15 September 2026.

This is the first instance of overt military tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours since they engaged in a fierce, four-day military conflict last year that raised fears of a wider war before a ceasefire was reached.

In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said that the incident occurred while the Pakistan Navy was conducting its biennial exercise, SEASPARK-26.

The Indian vessel carried out aggressive manoeuvres in dangerously close proximity to a Pakistani naval ship, resulting in contact between the two vessels.

The spokesperson said the incident constituted a serious violation of international law as well as the 1991 bilateral agreement on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troop Movements.

He said the incident also risked escalating tensions in the region.

The Indian charge d’affaires was asked to convey to the government of India that Pakistan strongly rejected what it called the “belligerent” action.

The spokesperson also urged India to strictly adhere to international law and bilateral agreements, particularly those aimed at preventing incidents at sea.

Meanwhile, the charge d’affaires of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi will lodge the same demarche with India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

Pakistan also called on the international community to urge India to abandon what it termed a “belligerent posture” and refrain from irresponsible actions that could further destabilise South Asia.

The FO said the region could ill afford to remain “perpetually hostage” to what it described as India’s “reckless pursuit of conflict and instability”.

India launched strikes on several Pakistani cities on May 6 and 7, 2025, following a terrorist attack in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam area.

Pakistan responded with Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, targeting multiple Indian military installations in a large-scale retaliatory operation.

During the confrontation, Pakistan shot down eight Indian fighter aircraft, including three Rafale jets, along with dozens of drones. The hostilities lasted nearly 87 hours before both nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.