India Determines Pakistani Pigeon Was Not A Spy At All

Ankita Chetana |May 31, 2020

Earlier, the pigeon was accused of bringing a coded message near the border between India and Pakistan. But finally, it was detected to be blameless.

In May, some villagers in Manyari, India caught a spy pigeon near the India-Pakistan border. What drew a lot of attention was that the bird seemed to transfer a 'coded message' that some agencies of security were trying to decode it.

Spy Pigeon From Pakistan — The 'spy' pigeon from Pakistan with rings on its feet

According to the senior superintendent of Kathua Police Shailendra Mishra, the spy pigeon was sent to police on May 24th when it arrived at a woman's residence in Kashmir after flying from Pakistan. Shailendra shared in detail:

"A ring was seen attached to one of its legs with some numbers on it and a probe is on. We can't say it was used for spying. Locals, seeing a tag tied with its leg, caught the pigeon. Some called it a coded message. In Pakistan's Punjab, people tie number tags on pigeons to claim ownership."

A long time ago, some reports showed that birds have been used to do the espionage around the disputed areas. Back in 2016, a bird was found close to the Pakistan border by police in Pathankot (Punjab, India). Especially, it was attached with a threatening note to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

Even in 2015, also in the disputatious border of the nuclear-armed nations, local reports pointed out a bird found near there with a 'stamped message' on the body. Since then, every bird caught around this area is suspected to be a 'spy'.

Spy Pigeon Test To Determine — A probe is executed to determine whether the pigeon is a spy or not.

But these days, a couple of Indian officials through a probe confirmed that the pigeon was not a spy. After determining its owner - a Pakistani fisherman, the police have decided to free it. Shailendra Mishra stated:

"The pigeon was set free yesterday (May 28) after nothing suspicious was found."

However, the official didn't clear the air about the place to release the spy pigeon or make sure that it reached its owner already. Habibullah, the Pakistani owner of the pigeon said to Reuters that: "It’s just an innocent bird".

He clarified that the digits on the ring attached to the bird's leg were not coded from the Pakistani military. It was just a contestant of a pigeon racing contest and such numbers stand for his phone number only.

In fact, there is actually this kind of sport taking place in the villages near both sides of the India-Pakistan border. Shakar Garh Pigeon Club member Yasir Khalid further added that losing a bird on either side is common and usual. Birds' owners always mark them with stamps on their feet' rings and wings.