India Friday said it accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan because of a “technical malfunction” during routine maintenance. “On 9 March 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile,” the Indian government 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.” “The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry,” the statement added. The development comes a day after Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar revealed that an Indian projectile had entered the Pakistani airspace and fell near Mian Channu in Khanewal district, causing some damage to the surrounding areas. Briefing journalists about the incident in Rawalpindi on Thursday, the DG ISPR said: “At 6:43pm [on Wednesday], a high-speed flying object was picked up inside the Indian territory by the Air Defence Operation Centre of the Pakistan Air Force.” “From its initial course, the object suddenly manoeuvred towards the Pakistani territory and violated Pakistan’s airspace [before] ultimately falling near Mian Channu at 6:50pm.” He said that when the projectile fell, it damaged some civilian property. “Thankfully, no loss or injury to human life was caused.” The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) continuously monitored the complete flight path of the flying object from its point of origin near Sirsa in India till its point of impact near Mian Channu, the DG ISPR said.
Maj Gen Iftikhar said the PAF initiated requisite tactical actions in accordance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and that the flight path of the object endangered many international and domestic passenger flights both in Indian and Pakistani airspace. “It […] shows their (India’s) disregard for aviation safety and reflects very poorly on their technological prowess and procedural efficiency.”
Maj Gen Iftikhar said that the incident could have resulted in a major aviation disaster as well as civilian casualties on the ground.
“Pakistan strongly protests this flagrant violation and cautions against the recurrence of any such incident in the future,” he asserted.
He said that an inquiry into the matter has been launched and forensics are being carried out but confirmed that the supersonic flying object was “most probably a missile,” but it was “certainly unarmed.”
“Whatever has caused this, we will wait for an explanation from the Indian side,” he reiterated, adding that the Pakistani armed forces are fully prepared to deal with all such scenarios.
A Pakistan Air Force official said the object travelled at an altitude of 40,000 feet, at Mach 3, and flew 124 kilometers (77 miles) in Pakistani airspace before crashing.
Air Vice Marshall Tariq Zia told journalists that at the time this projectile was picked up, there were two airway routes active and several commercial airlines 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.”
Air Vice Marshall Tariq Zia, speaking on the occasion, said that the object travelled 124 kilometers in Pakistan and remained in Pakistani airspace for three minutes.
He said that it was a supersonic missile but further investigation in this regard was underway.
Pakistan had also summoned the Indian envoy to record a strong protest over the incident and seek explanation earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office Friday summoned the Indian envoy to register protest against the unprovoked violation of Pakistan’s airspace by an Indian “super-sonic flying object”, saying such “irresponsible incidents” reflected the neighbouring country’s “disregard for air safety and callousness towards regional peace and stability”.
It also called for a thorough and transparent investigation of the incident, the results of which should be shared with Pakistan.
In a statement, the Foreign Office said it was conveyed to the Indian envoy that the “imprudent launch of the flying object not only caused damage to civilian property, but also put at risk human lives on ground”.
The trajectory of the projectile also endangered the lives of people travelling on domestic and international aeroplanes and could have resulted in a serious aviation accident as well as civilian casualties, the statement said.
“The Indian [envoy] was told to convey to the Government of India Pakistan’s strong condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistani airspace in contravention of the established international norms and aviation safety protocols. Such irresponsible incidents are also reflective of India’s disregard for air safety and callousness towards regional peace and stability,” the FO added.a
It warned India to be mindful of the “unpleasant consequences of such negligence” and asked it to take effective measures to ensure that such violations do not occur in the future.