'Hello, Karachi': Pakistan Claims It 'Blocked' Indian Submarine From Entering Its Territorial Waters

Earlier today, the propaganda arm of the Pakistan military, ISPR or Inter-Services Public Relations, claimed that the country's navy had managed to detect and stop an Indian submarine from entering its territorial waters in the Arabian Sea, Pakistani media reports said.

In a statement, ISPR said the Indian submarine was trying to enter Pakistan's territorial waters but was "prematurely detected and tracked".

"It is the third incident of its kind wherein an Indian submarine has been prematurely detected and tracked by Pakistan Navy's Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft," ISPR's statement read.

Sources in the Indian security establishment have dismissed Pakistan's claim saying no professional navy would try to enter enemy territorial waters or conduct operations in those waters with its mast surfaced.

The video released by the Pakistan Navy and ISPR shows some parts of the submarine above the surface of the water.

"During the prevailing security milieu, a strict monitoring watch has been kept by Pakistan Navy to safeguard the maritime frontiers of Pakistan," the statement issued by the ISPR said.

According to the Pakistani media, the country's navy claims to have "detected" Indian submarines in November 2016, after the surgical strikes of September 2016, and in March 2019, weeks after the Balakot airstrike.

The pattern of Pakistan's claims of detecting Indian submarines just weeks after every major Indian action against its terror launchpads suggests that Pakistan uses the issue to distract domestic action away from its failures and satisfy public opinion, experts said.

Indian netizens, however, suggested that India could have been trying to spook or unnerve the Pakistan Navy by surfacing one of its submarines close to the country's territorial waters.

"Why else would an Indian submarine surface close to Pakistani territorial waters? The only explanation for this (if it is an Indian submarine) is that they were inviting the Pakistani Navy to detect them and show how close they can come to Karachi," an Indian netizen said.

"Hello, Karachi," a reply to the post read.