FO says reports on BrahMos missile incident ‘disingenuous attempt’ to absolve India of its ‘irresponsible nuclear behaviour’

The Foreign Office on Wednesday said that Indian media’s reports about the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general (DG) calling the BrahMos missile incident “not a cause of specific concern” were a “disingenuous attempt” to absolve New Delhi of its “irresponsible nuclear behaviour”.

In a report on November 14, The Indian Express quoted international nuclear watchdog IAEA saying that it did not see the incident as "any cause of specific concern”.

Responding to the development today, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that the report should have been "qualified by stating that IAEA has no mandate on such matters”.

“The DG’s response cannot be purposely misinterpreted to trivialise the incident of a nuclear-capable BrahMos missile fire with grave implications for regional and global security.

“The incident has raised several questions about India’s conduct as a nuclear state, including whether it was actually an accident. India also needs to answer questions about the underlying intentions, technical features and reliability of the missile system, safety, security and nuclear command and control protocols, and the presence of rogue elements in the Indian military,” the FO spokesperson said.

She said that India needs to explain several repeated incidents of nuclear and radioactive material theft and illicit trafficking that are more relevant to the IAEA mandate.

"It was expected to report these nuclear security-related incidents under the IAEA Incidents and Trafficking Database," she stressed.

"These critical questions, which remain unanswered, should continue to be of concern to the international community," she noted.