India to take up balloon issue with Pakistan

New Delhi, Jan 28: India will take up with Pakistan the issue of an unidentified balloon-like object that intruded into Indian territory and was subsequently brought down in Rajasthan on Tuesday, an official said on Thursday. “The defence ministry has written to us (about the balloon issue) and we will take this up with Pakistan,” exterl affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing here. An unidentified balloon-like object detected by the Indian Air Force was on Tuesday shot down by a fighter aircraft in Rajasthan’s Barmer district, over 515 km from Jaipur. Panic gripped villages in the district after a loud explosion was heard in the afternoon when the IAF fighter jet brought down the suspicious balloon-like object. A police team rushed to these villages found cone-shaped metallic objects. On Wednesday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said his ministry has written to the exterl affairs ministry “which would do the needful”. (IANS)