The Indian defence ministry gave a statement on Friday that an Indian missile “accidentally” entered Pakistan and fell in Khanewal district’s Mian Channu area on Wednesday.
The ministry regretted the incident and termed it as a “technical malfunction”.
According to the statement, “on 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile”
The statement added that “it is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan.”
It further added that “the government has taken serious view and ordered a high-level court of enquiry”
The ministry said while the incident was “deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident”.
It is pertinent to note that the Indian defence ministry’s statement comes a day after Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar briefed the media about the incident, calling for an explanation from New Delhi.
“On March 9, at 6:43pm, a high-speed flying object was picked up inside the Indian territory by Air Defence Operations Centre of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF),” he told media persons in Islamabad, adding the object suddenly manoeuvred towards Pakistani territory from its initial course and violated Pakistan’s air space, ultimately falling near Mian Channu at 6:50pm.
“It was a supersonic flying object, most probably a missile, but it was certainly unarmed,” he said at the time.
“It is important to highlight that the flight path of this object endangered many international and domestic passenger flights — both in Indian and Pakistani air space — as well as human life and property on ground,” he added.
“Whatever caused this incident to happen, it is for the Indians to explain. It, nevertheless, shows their disregard for aviation safety and reflects very poorly on their technological prowess and procedural efficiency,” he further stated.
He said Pakistan “strongly protests this flagrant violation and cautions against recurrence of any such incident in the future”.
Earlier in the day, the Foreign Office (FO) summoned the Indian envoy to register Pakistan’s protest over the unprovoked violation of its airspace, saying such “irresponsible incidents” reflected the neighbouring country’s “disregard for air safety and callousness towards regional peace and stability”.
It also called for a thorough and transparent investigation of the incident, the results of which should be shared with Pakistan.
The FO said it was conveyed to the Indian envoy that the “imprudent launch of the flying object not only caused damage to civilian property but also put at risk human lives on ground”.
“The Indian [envoy] was told to convey to the Government of India Pakistan’s strong condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistani airspace in contravention of the established international norms and aviation safety protocols. Such irresponsible incidents are also reflective of India’s disregard for air safety and callousness towards regional peace and stability,” the FO added.
It warned India to be mindful of the “unpleasant consequences of such negligence” and asked it to take effective measures to ensure that such violations do not occur in the future.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi expressed concern over the incident, saying that the international community and aviation bodies should take notice.
He said Pakistan would decide its next step after receiving India’s explanation, adding that envoys of P-5 countries (permanent members of the United Nations Security Council) would be called to the FO and briefed about the incident.
“India will have to be answerable for this,” he stressed.
Many political leaders also condemned the incident and appreciated the PAF’s prompt response.
