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India reports 'accidental firing' of missile into Pakistan

March 11, 2022

India has said a "technical malfunction" was to blame for a missile that accidentally landed in Pakistan on March 9. New Delhi said the incident was "deeply regrettable."

https://p.dw.com/p/48N1o
India's nuclear-capable BrahMos missile on display
A Pakistani official who declined to be naimed claimed it was India's nuclear-capable BrahMos missile that was accidentally firedImage: Manish Swarup/AP/picture alliance

India accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan on March 9, the Indian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

The Defense Ministry said the government had ordered a "high-level Court of Enquiry" into the incident, indicating that a technical malfunction during the course of a routine maintenance was believed to be the cause.

"On 9 March 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile," the Defense Ministry said in a three-paragraph 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," the statement added.

What happened?

On March 10, Pakistan's spokesperson for its Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a Facebook post that Islamabad had summoned India's top diplomat in Pakistan to Islamabad to lodge Pakistan's "strong protest over the unprovoked violation of its airspace."

Pakistan said that an India-origin "super-sonic flying object" had entered into territory on March 9, at 18:43 local time. They said the missile was unarmed and had crashed near the country's eastern city of Mian Channu, some 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital Islamabad.

Authorities said the incident not only damaged civilian property but also engendered human lives on the ground. It asked India to be "mindful of the unpleasant consequences" of such negligence.

"The admission that it was a missile was very nonchalant," an unnamed senior Pakistani security official told Reuters, adding that it was likely the BrahMos missile, a nuclear-capable, land-attack cruise missile jointly developed by Russia and India.

"What does this say about their safety mechanisms and the technical prowess of very dangerous weapons? The international community needs to have a very close look at this," the official added.

India and Pakistan both have nuclear weapons, and military experts have repeatedly warned of the risk of miscalculation or nuclear accidents. 

The two countries veered dangerously close to a full-out war in 2019, when both launched airstrikes across the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan.

rm/jcg (Reuters, AP)