ISLAMABAD: Pakistan summoned top Indian diplomat and conveyed the country’s serious concerns over New Delhi’s acceptance of the “accidental firing” of a missile into Pakistani territory and sought a satisfactory response.

“The Charge d’ Affaires (Cd’A) of the Republic of India in Islamabad was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today and conveyed the Government of Pakistan’s serious concerns on the press statement issued by the Indian Press Information Bureau’s Defence Wing regarding the “accidental firing” of an Indian missile into Pakistani territory on 9 March 2022 due to ‘technical malfunction’ and the decision to hold an internal court of inquiry, Foreign Office said in a statement.

It added that the Cd’A was asked to convey to the Government of India that such serious matters could not be addressed with simplistic explanations as offered by the Indian authorities.

The top Indian diplomat was further told that Pakistan expects satisfactory response to and clarification of several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorized launch of missiles in a nuclearized environment.

“The Cd’A was informed that the Indian decision to hold an internal court of inquiry was not sufficient since the missile ended up in Pakistani territory,” it stated.

He was also told to convey to the Government of India Pakistan’s demand of a joint probe in order to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident, it added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022