Pakistan plans navy drills in zone that overlaps with exercise 'Trishul'

The overlap exists because Pakistan’s maritime territory is contiguous to that controlled by India. (PTI)

In what is increasingly being read as a 'retaliatory' move, Pakistan on Saturday issued a naval navigational warning on Saturday for firing exercises in the northern Arabian Sea starting Sunday. The exercise is set to take place in a zone that overlaps with India's ongoing major tri-services military exercise in the country’s western sector.

The overlap resulting from Pakistan's maritime contiguity with the territory controlled by India. Hindustan Times, citing experts said they believe coordination between the two sides will prevent any incidents during the simultaneous exercises.

The Indian exercise, which the army calls Trishul, is being conducted in Rajasthan, Gujarat and the Arabian Sea and involves tens of thousands of soldiers, fighter jets, warships, submarines, tanks, artillery guns and other weapons and systems. It is the first major military exercise since the four-day military confrontation with Pakistan in May under Operation Sindoor.

The Pakistani drills will involve warships conducting live surface and sub-surface firing in an area bounded by specific coordinates covering approximately 6,000 square kilometres. “Mariners keep well clear off exercise area,” the abovementioned publication reported.

The Hydrographer of Pakistan issued NAVAREA IX 514/25 on Saturday for drills during November 2-5 in the northern Arabian Sea, two days after India kicked off a two-week-long tri-services exercise in the country’s western sector and the same maritime expanse.

It is not uncommon for the two militaries to conduct drills simultaneously. The exercises comes almost six months after the May 7-10 military clash under Operation Sindoor, which marked New Delhi’s direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. India launched the operation in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

On October 2, defence minister Rajnath Singh warned Islamabad of an overwhelming response if it attempted any mischief in Sir Creek sector, the comments coming against the backdrop of the neighbour shoring up military infrastructure near the disputed area. The response, he said, will be strong enough to alter the history and geography of the area. Last week, Singh also said that Pakistan is still recovering from the blow dealt by India during the four-day military clash.