• India says incident occurred in course of routine maintenance
• Launches ‘high-level’ inquiry into incident
• FO says India warned to be mindful of unpleasant consequences of such negligence
• Pakistan tells India to thoroughly probe into the matter, share results
• Summons Indian Charge d’Afaires to convey condemnation of ‘blatant’ transgression of airspace
• FM maintains Pakistan to invite P-5 countries over India’s airspace violations
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: The Indian defence ministry regretted on Friday that a missile “accidentally” entered Pakistan and fell in Khanewal district’s Mian Channu area on Wednesday, attributing the incident to a “technical malfunction”.
“On 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile,” the ministry said in a statement. “It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan.”
“The government has taken serious view and ordered a high-level court of enquiry,” the statement added.
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”.
The Indian defence ministry’s statement comes a day after Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar briefed the media about the incident, calling for an explanation from 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 today, 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.
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.
Other political leaders also condemned the incident and appreciated the PAF’s prompt response.
Moreover, Pakistan will invite the representatives of the permanent member (P-5) countries of the United Nations Security Council on India’s recent violation of Pakistani airspace, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Friday.
India’s unidentified supersonic missile had crashed in Pakistan’s Mian Channu, according to the military spokesman on Thursday.
FM Qureshi said Pakistan would discuss with the P-5 representatives the situation and India’s repeated violations.
Terming India’s violation of Pakistan’s air space an act of aggression, he called upon the international community to take notice of situation.
In a statement, the foreign minister said the Indian charge d’affaires had been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the second time violation of the same kind.
FM Qureshi said the act had endangered the human lives as the aircraft of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the domestic flights of Pakistan could be hit by the missile.
He said India would have to be answerable to its aggression, adding that Pakistan would always be ready to counter it.
He mentioned that the ruling party in India was promoting Hindutva policies, adding that 21 members of the EU parliament had written a letter to the Speaker of Lok Sabha on the deteriorating human rights situation.
The foreign minister said Pakistan had exposed the double standard of India before the world.
He said Pakistan was in favour of maintaining good relations with all neighbours including India, however, would not compromise on its sovereignty.
