On Tuesday, at the second budget session, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the incident of an unintentional missile launch into Pakistan on March 9 “regrettable” and expressed relief that there was no loss of life.
Pakistan had said that the missile landed 124km deep inside Pakistan’s territory, to which Rajnath Singh assured the House that “the missile system is very reliable and safe”. India admitted last week that a “technical fault resulted in the inadvertent firing of a missile.”
“The government has taken serious note of the incident,” Defence Minister Rajnath said in Parliament. A formal, high-level inquiry has been ordered. The inquiry would determine the exact cause of the accident.
He also added that in the aftermath of the occurrence, a review of the Standard Operating Procedures for operations, inspections, and maintenance is underway.
Pakistan and the Incident
- According to a statement released by the Pakistan Foreign Affairs Ministry, such “irresponsible acts” indicate India’s disrespect for air safety and callous disregard for regional peace and security.Â
- Pakistan demanded India to release more details as to why it failed to immediately inform Pakistan about the incident.Â
- Major General Babar Iftikhar previously stated that Pakistan’s air force had tracked the missile from its launch to the end of its three-minute passage across Pakistani airspace. He denounced the “egregious infringement” and requested an explanation from India, claiming that civilians may have been put in jeopardy.Â
- Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said the country has encouraged its South Asian neighbours to establish a reporting mechanism to prevent such incidents and share information.
The US supports India’s stand on the incident
The United States has said there is no evidence that the recent shooting of an Indian missile that landed in Pakistan was anything more than an accident. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that “We have no indication, as you also heard from our Indian partners, that this incident was anything other than an accident.”
Published by – Kiruthiga K
Edited by – Khushi Thakur
