Pakistan invites UN’s attention to incident of India’s ‘accidentally’ fired missile

GENEVA: Pakistan Friday drew the attention of UN Conference on Disarmament to India’s “reckless” behaviour and actions when it “accidentally” fired a missile into the Pakistani territory on March 9, causing civilian damage and putting at risk human lives.

Speaking in the 65-member panel established to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements, Pakistani delegate Muhammad Omar said that the missile incident posed grave risks to regional peace and strategic stability in a nuclearized environment.

Omar, first secretary at the Pakistan Mission to the UN Offices in Geneva, said his government had taken note of India’s press statement regretting the “accidental firing” of the Indian origin missile into Pakistani territory due to “technical malfunction” and the decision to hold an internal inquiry, but said, “Such a serious matter cannot be addressed with simplistic explanations.”

“We believe that 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,” the Pakistani delegate said.

As the incident indicates multiple shortcomings and technical lapses of serious nature in India’s management of strategic weapons, Omar said New Delhi’s decision to hold an internal probe is an insufficient measure.

Since the missile violated Pakistan’s air space and landed on its territory,” he added, “Pakistan has demanded that the truth of the matter and the facts surrounding the incident be established through a joint probe with Pakistan.

Given the short distances and response times in the Pakistan-India theatre, any misinterpretation by either side of each other’s military actions could lead to responses with grave consequences for the region and indeed for the whole world, especially in a nuclearized environment,” the Pakistani delegate added.

“Pakistan seeks peaceful relations with all its neighbours, including India, he said, but its desire for peace is accompanied by a strong resolve and capability for self-defence which will be exercised according to the rights under the UN Charter.

“It is time that the international community opened its eyes to India’s irresponsible behaviour and its cavalier disregard for peace and stability in the region,” the Pakistani delegate said.