Islamabad rejects New Delhi’s decision to hold an internal inquiry into the incident
Pakistan has demanded a joint probe into a missile India said it accidentally fired into its territory, rejecting New Delhi’s decision to hold an internal inquiry into the incident and calling on the international community to play a role.
“Such a serious matter cannot be addressed with the simplistic explanation proffered by the Indian authorities,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement.” Pakistan demands a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident”.
The foreign office statement was issued in response to the Indian Defence Ministry’s vague explanation about the missile that landed in Mian Channu, Pakistan, on March 9 after flying in from across the border from the northern Indian city of Sirsa, in Haryana state.
India claimed that missile was “fired accidentally” during a routine maintenance operation because of a technical malfunction and said a “high-level court of enquiry” had been ordered into the incident.
Pakistan rejects India’s version
Pakistani authorities do not trust the Indian version and believe “many loopholes and technical lapses” in Indian handling of strategic weapons led to the incident.
Indian Charge d’ Affaires was also called to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was asked to convey to the Government of India that such serious matters could not be addressed with simplistic explanations as offered by the Indian authorities. He was informed that the Indian decision to hold an internal court of inquiry was not sufficient since the missile ended up in Pakistani territory.
Pakistan demand answers
The grave nature of the incident raises several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorized launch of missiles in a nuclearized environment, Pakistan foriegn office said.
Pakistan has demanded answers from India on these concerns:
• India must explain the measures and procedures in place to prevent accidental missile launches and the particular circumstances of this incident.
• India needs to clearly explain the type and specifications of the missile that fell in Pakistani territory.
• India also needs to explain the flight path/ trajectory of the accidentally launched missile and how it ultimately turned and entered into Pakistan?
• Was the missile equipped with self-destruct mechanism? Why did it fail to actualize?
• Are Indian missiles kept primed for launch even under routine maintenance?
• Why did India fail to immediately inform Pakistan about the accidental launch of the missile and waited to acknowledge till after Pakistan announced the incident and sought clarification?
• Given the profound level of incompetence, India needs to explain if the missile was indeed handled by its armed forces or some rogue elements?