Pakistan summoned an Indian envoy to formally complain Thursday about alleged violations of its airspace. Pakistani leaders had previously downplayed the alleged breaches by Indian aircraft, calling them «technical.» On Wednesday, they stepped up demands that India show evidence to back its claims that a Pakistani militant group trained and sent the gunmen, saying court prosecutions would be impossible without proof. Indian Deputy High Commissioner Manpreet Vohra said Thursday that he will pass on the complaint over the alleged airspace violation to his government, but he noted previous Indian denials. «Our government, after holding an inquiry, has already said that there was no airspace violation from our side, and I reiterated this stance today,» Vohra told The Associated Press. Pakistan had said earlier that the two separate violations occurred Saturday over the eastern city of Lahore and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The Indian aircraft allegedly flew some one to three miles into Pakistan. Pakistani fighter jets chased them back over the border, according to the Pakistan Air Force. In a statement Thursday, the Foreign Ministry said «technical and airspace violations» occurred on Friday and Saturday, violating a 1991 bilateral agreement. It did not elaborate and a spokesman could not immediately be reached to explain the discrepancy.
