The army on Sunday fired at a Pakistani chopper that had violated Indian airspace in Jammu’s Poonch sector, but the helicopter flew back without suffering any damage.

The prime minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Raja Farooq Haider Khan, later told TV channels in Muzaffarabad, PoK, that he and his cabinet colleagues were in the helicopter. He said the Indian army fired at their chopper while they were in “azad Kashmir” (PoK) territory.

An army officer in Jammu said the force had no information about PoK dignitaries being on board the chopper.

The defence spokesperson in Jammu, Lt Col Devender Anand, said the helicopter had violated Indian airspace around 12.10pm, prompting air sentries to fire from small arms.

A video shows a white chopper hovering over the hills for some time and turning back as sounds of gunfire are heard.

Officials said the chopper had entered a few hundred metres into Indian airspace at the Gulpur sector of Poonch and was flying low when the sentries fired.

“It seemed to be a civilian chopper. No heavy anti-aircraft firepower was used. Only small arms fire was directed at it,” an official said.

PoK prime minister Haider told reporters: “We were inside our area when they opened fire at our helicopter. I have seen the video; it was an azad Kashmir territory.”

Haider said two of his cabinet colleagues were accompanying him to an area close to the LoC to offer condolences to a minister on his brother’s death and take stock of the situation in the area, which has allegedly witnessed Indian shelling.

Haider said they had hired a private chopper — it was not a military helicopter.

“We went along the LoC. Civilian helicopters can go up to the Zero Line (LoC)…. It was neither a gunship helicopter nor a reconnaissance helicopter, but a civilian helicopter flying along the LoC. Our LoC is such that there is no marking showing which is their area and which is somebody else’s,” he said.

Helicopters, according to norms recognised by both India and Pakistan, are not supposed to come within 1km of the Line of Control. Fixed-wing aircraft must not come within 10km of the LoC.

Hours earlier, an Indian soldier was injured in a landmine blast in Poonch district close to the LoC. An official said Havaldar Sendkar Ravsahav of the 4 Maratha Light Infantry was injured at 9.35am.