India, Pakistan summon diplomats after naval collision

India and Pakistan on Wednesday summoned each other's top diplomats to lodge ‌strong protests after an Indian and a Pakistani naval vessel collided with each other.

India's Foreign Ministry said that it had called in Pakistan's senior envoy to formally register a strong objection over what it said was "unacceptable and unprofessional conduct" of Pakistani naval units that led to a ​collision with an Indian warship.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry also said it had officially called upon the charge d'affaires of the ​Indian High Commission in Islamabad to convey disapproval over what it called "highly provocative and unacceptable action" by an Indian navy vessel.

India said the collision occurred in international waters, while Pakistan said it happened in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone.

This was the first overt military tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors since they engaged in a fierce, four-day ​military conflict last year that raised fears of a wider war before a ceasefire was reached.

Both sides blamed the other for ​the incident on Tuesday.

Indian sources said the collision occurred when a Pakistani naval ship moved closer to a frontline Indian warship on a routine surveillance mission in the north Arabian Sea at high speed.

However, the ​Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that the Indian vessel had carried out "aggressive maneuvers in dangerously close proximity" to a Pakistani naval ship that was taking part in biennial exercises and that the charge d'affaires had been asked to ​convey to the Indian government that the country rejected the Indian action.

India and Pakistan do not have ambassadors in each other's capitals as they downgraded their diplomatic relations over their Kashmir dispute in 2019. Their missions have been headed by ​a charge d'affaires ever since.