The ministry further stated that India has taken a serious view of the incident and has ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry into it
Representational image. News18
The defence ministry on Friday said a technical malfunction in the course of a routine maintenance led to the accidental firing of a missile on 9 March.
The ministry said the missile landed in an area of Pakistan and noted that the “incident is deeply regrettable”.
The Pakistan military on Thursday said that a high-speed projectile launched from India entered the Pakistani airspace and fell near Mian Channu in Khanewal district.
The defence ministry said the government of India has taken a serious view of the incident and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry into it.
“On 9 March, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile,” it said in a statement.
“It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan. While the incident is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident,” it added.
The incident
Pakistan alleged violation of its airspace by an Indian-origin super-sonic flying object on Thursday that entered into the country from Suratgarh in India at 6:43 pm (local time) on 9 March.
The object later fell on the ground near Mian Chunnu city in Pakistan’s Punjab province at around 6:50 pm on the same day, causing damage to civilian property.
Following the incident Pakistan on Friday, summoned India’s Charge d’Affaires and conveyed its strong protest over the alleged unprovoked violation of its airspace and had sought a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident that could have resulted in a serious aviation accident.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a statement had alleged that India had endangered innocent lives by violating Pakistan’s airspace as flights of Saudi and Qatar airlines, as well as domestic flights, could have been hit.
He said Pakistan would decide its next step after receiving India’s explanation, adding that envoys of P-5 countries (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) will be called to the foreign office and briefed about the incident. “India will have to be answerable for this,” he had said.
Air Vice Marshall Tariq Zia, who addressed a press conference on Thursday, said that at the time the projectile was picked up by the Pakistani military, there were two active airway routes and several commercial airlines were in the area.
“If you look at the speed and height of the projectile, it was 40,000 feet high, and the airlines were between 35,000 to 42,000 feet. This could have been very detrimental to the safety of passengers.”
The projectile travelled 124 kilometres inside Pakistani territory in three minutes and 44 seconds, he added.
The FO also said the flight path of the flying object endangered several domestic/international flights within the Pakistani airspace and could have resulted in a serious aviation accident as well as civilian casualties, it said.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.