India denies Pak navy's 'blatant lie' of pushing away submarine from its waters

The Pakistani navy detected an Indian submarine off the Pakistani coast and prevented it from entering its waters, it said in a statement on Friday, prompting a denial by India as tension between the nuclear-armed rivals simmers.

The submarine was detected "south of the Pakistani coast" on Monday, the navy said in a press release. "Thereafter, despite the submarine's desperate efforts to escape detection, it was continuously tracked by Pakistan Navy Fleet units and pushed well clear of our waters," the press release said. The Pakistan navy also released footage and photographs of what it was said was the submarine. "This is all blatant lies," Indian navy spokesman D. K. Sharma told Reuters.

"Pakistan Navy fleet units detected the presence of Indian submarines in the southern parts of Pakistani waters...and restricted their activity," the statement by Pak spokesperson said. The spokesman claimed that Pakistan Navy had been successful in thwarting the efforts of the Indian submarines to keep their presence camouflaged. "The Navy had constantly pursued the submarines and pushed them back," he said. "The Pakistan Navy is fully prepared to defend its borders and capable of responding to any aggression befittingly," he added.

Commodore (retd) Tasneem Ahmed, a Pakistani defence analyst, said Indian submarines would have been detected by air reconnaissance. The Indian submarines might have been on an "intelligence gathering" mission when detected by Pakistan Navy, Pakistani naval experts were quoted as saying by media reports.