India-Pakistan Tensions At Boiling Point After Kashmir Attack: What Is INS Vikrant That Is Seen In Arabian Sea

India-Pakistan Tensions: India has likely responded to Pakistan's rejection of their cross-border linkage decisions after Pahalgam attack. This time, a 262-meter-long aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant is seen to be sailing towards the Arabian Sea to prepare for a missile test in the said region, as per reports.

The development is confirmed by Satellite images that have been accessed by defence analysts. The imagery confirms INS Vikrant leaving its homeport of INS Kadamba, Karwar of Karnataka and currently surveilling around the coast.

INS Vikrant's patrolling comes hours after Pakistan vehemently rejected India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan instead called it an 'Act of War' and threatened to safeguard the water supply at all costs.

India made stringent cross-border decisions after the Pahalgam terror attack which claimed the lives of 26 people on April 22.

The CSS of India, which is the top body of national security for the country, condemned the latest terror attack on Kashmiri soil and recognized the seriousness of the heinous attack. It decided to immediately ban Pakistani nationals from travelling to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES). Any SVES visas that were issued in the past to Pakistani nationals are deemed cancelled.

Further, CSS gave 48 hours of timespan for Pakistani nationals under the SVES to leave India. The deadline ended on April 24. Also, the defence ministry air and naval advisors in the Pakistani high commission in New Delhi, are declared persona non-grata and granted a week's time to leave India.

Furthermore, in a bold decision, CSS of India also suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, which as per Pakistan is a lifeline to about 240 million people in their country. The suspension of a 65-year-old treaty between India and Pakistan is expected to impact the latter's 90% of agriculture sector. Lastly, the Indian government closed the Attari and Wagah borders, which was another major trade route between the two countries.

In a tit-for-tat, Pakistan also cancelled all visas to Indian nationals, while banning its airspace for Indian-operated or owned airlines. Further, Pakistan suspended the 1972 Simla Agreement.

What Is INS Vikrant?

INS Vikrant in Sanskrit means 'Courageous', whose motto is ' "जयेम सम् युधिस्पृधः' meaning 'I defeat those who dare to challenge me. The ship has been in existence for more than 2 decades and is currently one of two active aircraft carriers in the Indian Navy.

Vikran is constructed by defence PSU giant Cochin Shipyard. The vessel is a mammoth steel structure of 21,500 tonnes of special grade steel developed indigenously and used in Indian Naval Ships for the first time. The enormity of the vessel can be gauged from the appx 2300 kms of cabling, 120 kms of piping and over 2300 compartments available onboard. The vessel is powered by four gas turbines in a COGAG (Combined Gas and Gas) propulsion configuration, as per the Cochin website.

Furthermore, It is 262 metres (860 ft) in length, with a top speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) and endurance of 7,500 nautical miles (13,900 km; 8,600 mi). The ship has 2,300 compartments manned by 1,700 seamen. It has a hospital complex, cabins for female officers, eight kilometres (5.0 mi) of corridors, and eight generators capable of lighting up a city of 2 million people, as per Wikipedia.