India-Pakistan
Stating that the incident involving the accidental firing of a missile which ended up in Pakistan indicates many “loopholes and technical lapses” of serious nature in “Indian handling of strategic weapons”, Pakistan on Saturday demanded a joint probe to “accurately establish the facts” surrounding it. This was also conveyed to the Charge d’ Affaires (Cd’A) of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
“The Indian decision to hold an internal court of inquiry is not sufficient since the missile ended up in Pakistani territory. Pakistan demands a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of Pakistan said in a statement.
Also read | Technical malfunction led to accidental firing of missile, India tells Pakistan
“The grave nature of the incident raises several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorised launch of missiles in a nuclearised environment.”
Stating that they took note of the statement from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the MoFA said such a serious matter cannot be addressed with the simplistic explanation offered by the Indian authorities.
A day after Pakistan made a detailed presentation that an Indian supersonic surface–to–surface missile landed 124 km inside its territory, the MoD on Friday said that in the course of a routine maintenance on March 9, a “technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile” and the Government of India has taken a “serious view” and has ordered a high–level Court of Inquiry.
On the missile landing in Pakistan, the MoD said the incident is “deeply regrettable” but it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life.
Raising a series of questions, Pakistan said given the “profound level of incompetence,” India needs to explain if the missile was indeed handled by its “armed forces or some rogue elements”.
Pakistan also sought answers to several questions including the measures and procedures in place to prevent accidental missile launches and the particular circumstances of this incident, the “type and specifications of the missile”, the flight path and trajectory and how it ultimately turned and entered Pakistan. “Was the missile equipped with self-destruct mechanism? Why did it fail to actualise?” it said.
Asking why India had failed to immediately inform Pakistan about the accidental launch and waited to acknowledge it till after Pakistan announced the incident and sought clarification, the MoFA said, “Are Indian missiles kept primed for launch even under routine maintenance?”
“Given the short distances and response times, any misinterpretation by the other side could lead to counter measures in self–defence with grave consequences,” the statement said while calling upon the international community to take serious notice of this incident of “grave nature in a nuclearised environment” and play its due role in promoting strategic stability in the region.
The description given by Pakistan on the technical characteristics of the missile that it was travelling at Mach 3 velocity at 40,000 feet and is a surface–to–surface missile, fits that of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which is in the inventory of all the three Services of the military. However, there was no official word on which missile it was.
In another statement, MoFA said they conveyed the Government of Pakistan’s “serious concerns” on the press statement issued by Indian MoD to the Cd’A and that such serious matters could not be addressed with “simplistic explanations” as offered by the Indian authorities.
“The Cd’A was further told that Pakistan expects satisfactory response to and clarification of several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorized launch of missiles in a nuclearized environment,” the statement said, adding that he was told to convey to the Government of India, Pakistan’s demand for a “joint probe” to accurately establish the facts.
