India, on Friday, strongly rejected Pakistan's allegations over the collision between a Pakistani naval vessel and Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata in the Arabian Sea, calling Islamabad's response the "usual prevarication" and blaming the incident on the "unacceptable and unprofessional" conduct of PNS Hunain.
New Delhi had on Wednesday summoned the Pakistani Charge d'Affaires and lodged a strong protest over the incident, which occurred on Tuesday night.
According to the Indian side, PNS Hunain closed in at high speed on INS Kolkata, which was on a routine surveillance mission in the north Arabian Sea. The Pakistani vessel allegedly manoeuvred in an unsafe and unprofessional manner, resulting in the collision.
Pakistan's foreign ministry, however, alleged that the incident followed a "highly provocative and unacceptable action" by the Indian vessel in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
"We have seen Pakistan's response to the protest we had lodged. It is the usual prevarication that we expected. We reject the allegations and insinuations contained therein," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during his regular media briefing.
Jaiswal said INS Kolkata was on a routine deployment in the western Arabian Sea when PNS Hunain conducted itself in an "unacceptable and unprofessional manner" that resulted in the collision.
India also accused the Pakistani vessel of violating a bilateral agreement governing the movement of military units at sea.
"The dangerous overtaking manoeuvre by PNS Hunain was in gross violation of Article 10 of the Agreement between India and Pakistan on Advance Notice on Military Exercises, Manoeuvres and Troops Movements of April 1991, which specifies that naval units at sea are not to be within three nautical miles of each other," Jaiswal said.
He added that the Pakistani vessel also infringed the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
India has once again "advised" Pakistan about the need for military units to exercise due care and respect the provisions of relevant agreements between the two countries to prevent a repeat of such incidents.
Jaiswal said the collision did not cause any major damage to INS Kolkata and that the warship remains at sea.
Official sources in New Delhi had earlier said PNS Hunain had closed in on the Indian warship at high speed on the evening of September 15 while INS Kolkata was carrying out a routine surveillance mission.
The Pakistani vessel's manoeuvring led to the collision, the sources said.
According to them, PNS Hunain, an offshore patrol vessel, suffered heavy damage in the incident, while INS Kolkata did not sustain any significant damage.
The Indian warship subsequently continued with its assigned task under its mission deployment in the region.
