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World Court confirms Pak move against India

The World Court today confirmed that Pakistan had started proceedings against India over the shooting down of a naval aircraft by Indian Air Force planes last month, killing all 16 on board.

Quoting the application, filed yesterday, the International Court of Justice said Pakistan had asked it to declare that India bore exclusive legal responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan believed India was obliged to ''make reparations to Pakistan for the loss of the aircraft and as compensation to the heirs of those killed'' in the August 10 incident, the court said.

Islamabad said the plane, a French-built Atlantique naval surveillance aircraft, crashed in Pakistan after being shot down near the border while on a routine training mission. India said the aircraft had intruded into its airspace.

Pakistan said India's actions had breached ''obligations assumed by it under the charter of the United Nations and the relevant rules of customary international law and treaty provisions.''

The shooting down heightened tension between the two countries only a month after they had ended a serious confrontation in the Kargil sector of Kashmir.

Last month, Pakistan lodged an official complaint with the United Nations calling the incident an ''act of military aggression'' and demanded from India $ 60.2 million in compensation.

Meanwhile, India today described the Pakistani move as a 'desperate propaganda gimmick.'

An External Affairs Ministry spokesman said Pakistan's move was timed to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York.

He said Pakistan's case was entirely untenable and India would deal with it as appropriate.

The spokesman reiterated that the Pakistani military-cum-surveillance aircraft was on a hostile military mission and was engaged in espionage activity. It had committed a brazen violation of Indian air space. It had also violated the 1991 agreement between India and Pakistan on prevention of airspace violations as well as internationally accepted rules of engagement in such situations.

He said that in keeping with these internationally accepted rules of engagement, intercepting Indian aircraft had conveyed a clear signal to the intruding Pakistani military aircraft asking it to correct its course and land. The Pakistani intruding aircraft had, however, disregarded all these warnings and signals.

The spokesman said the actions taken subsequently by the Indian Air Force were in keeping with internationally accepted as well as standard operating procedures. The Pakistani military aircraft was well within Indian air space when it was shot down, he said.

UNI

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