Pakistan seeks joint investigation with India over accidental missile launch
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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan demands a joint investigation to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident a day after the Indian ministry of defence said it accidentally fired a missile.
The Foreign Office on Saturday issued a detailed statement that include a list of questions for New Delhi to answer in light of Indian admission of firing a supersonic missile into Pakistan.
MoFA spokesperson said such an incident had raised several fundamental questions about security protocols and technical safeguards against the accidental or unauthorized launch of missiles in a nuclearised environment.
The statement added that such a serious matter cannot be addressed with the basic statements and it pointed even questions that need to be answered.
- 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 Pakistan? - Was the missile equipped with self-destruct mechanism? Why did it fail to actualise? - 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 it 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?
On Wednesday, a supersonic missile entered Pakistan airspace at 1843 hours near Mian Channu at 1850 causing damage to civilian property. Islamabad was able to detect the missile soon after it was launched in Sirsa in India, 104km from the Pakistan border.
Pakistan military spokesperson Director General Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar also held a presser briefing that an Indian high-speed flying object had fallen in Mian Channu, Khanewal district.
Meanwhile, National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf raised questions at New Delhi’s ability to handle sensitive technology, urging the world to consider whether India was able to ensure the safety and security of its weapon systems.
He mentioned that it had taken more than two days for Indian officials to accept that this was their missile launched ostensibly due to a technical malfunction during maintenance.
