"The recent fighting in Kashmir has raised tempers on both sides," says TIME New Delhi correspondent Maseeh Rahman. "The fact that 16 people were killed will create serious pressure in Pakistan for some retaliation." Details of the incident remain sketchy, and are likely to be hotly contested. "Indians may ask why a routine coastal patrol was carrying 16 people," says Rahman. New Delhi maintains a tight vigil on its airspace in the coastal border region, and has on numerous occasions forced unauthorized intruders to land. "Normal practice is for Indian planes to force intruders to identify themselves, order them out of the area, and force them to land if they dont comply," says Rahman. "Theyre only supposed to shoot down a plane once all those steps have been taken. Being a very professional air force, this is unlikely to have been the action of a trigger-happy pilot orders would have likely come from above, and that raises questions about what lay behind this incident." But right now, the tense atmosphere between the two countries may preclude an early answer.
Downing of Plane Set to Test India-Pakistan Pact
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India and Pakistan dont need much excuse to start fighting, so Tuesdays shooting down of a Pakistani military plane will be a real test of the two countries restraint. Just weeks after Pakistan under intense international pressure withdrew its forces from the Indian side of Kashmir, Indian combat planes shot down a Pakistani coastal patrol plane killing all 16 people on board, including five naval officers. India said the plane was downed while flying over its airspace; Pakistan insisted the plane was on the Pakistani side of the border and said the location of the wreckage would prove it.