NEW DELHI – Pakistan Navy submarine kept entire Indian Navy fleet on toespost Pulwama attack
The Indian Navy (IN) deployed a sizeable chunk of its fleet and supportingair arm to trace a Pakistan Navy (PN) submarine following the suicideattack in occupied Kashmir’s Pulwama district, *The Times of Indialink*reported*. *
According to Indian government sources, after tensions between the twonuclear-armed neighbours spiked, India was unable to locate an advancedPakistani Agosta-class submarine – PNS Saad. The search lasted 21 days.
“All the areas where it could have gone in the given timeframe, extensivesearches were carried out by the Indian Navy. P-8Is were pressed intoservice to locate the submarine along with the coastal areas of Gujaratfollowed by Maharashtra and other states,” the sources said.
The P-8Is are advance maritime surveillance aircraft with potentanti-submarine warfare capabilities and were acquired by India from theUnited States recently.
“The location near Karachi, Pakistan, from where the PNS Saad vanished, itcould reach the Gujarat coast in three days and the headquarters of thewestern fleet in Mumbai within five days and was seen as a major threat tothe security of the country,” the sources added.
The IN took all necessary steps to locate PNS Saad, and were prepared touse punitive military force if the submarine was found and refused tosurface.
Indian Navy’s latest induction, Scorpene-class submarine INS Kalvari andthe nuclear submarine INS Chakra had also been deployed in the hunt for thePakistanisubmarine. Committing its most potent assets to the search points to theperceived threat the PN submarine posed to India’s fleet and vital portinfrastructure.
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The IN kept expanding its area of search and satellites were also used inthe search.
However, after 21 days of an extensive search, the Indians claimed that thePakistani submarine was finally located in the western territorial watersof Pakistan.
On May 5, the PN said it had thwarted an attempt by an Indian submarine toenter Pakistani territorial waters.
“The Indian submarine was not targeted keeping in view Pakistan’s policy ofpeace,” said a spokesperson from the PN and added that India must learnfrom this incident and “move towards peace”.
A video of the Indian submarine was made when it came up to periscopedepth, however, the PN would have been tracking it for a longer time withthe assistance of aerial anti-submarine warfare assets.
