ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reiterated its concern on India’s “irresponsible firing” of BrahMos supersonic missile into the country’s territory a year ago and renewed its call for a joint probe into the “irresponsible” incident.
A year ago, a supersonic missile BrahMos was fired from Suratgarh India into Pakistani territory on March 9, 2022 which endangered human life and property and posed a grave threat to regional and international peace, security and stability, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a statement.
She added that Pakistan demonstrated exemplary restraint which is a testament of our systemic maturity and unflinching commitment to peace as a responsible nuclear state.
“The irresponsible act by India was in violation of international law, United Nations Charter, Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, civil aviation rules and safety protocols. It exposed many loopholes and technical lapses in the Indian system regarding handling of its strategic weapons,” she said.
Despite the lapse of one year, she added that the government of India has not acceded to Pakistan’s demand of a joint probe in order to accurately establish the facts surrounding this serious incident, adding that India has also not shared findings of its internal inquiry with Pakistan.
“Its (India’s) unilateral and hasty closure of the so-called internal inquiry have raised serious questions on the command and control systems in place in India for its strategic weapons. Pakistan reiterates its demand for joint probe into this irresponsible incident. We also expect 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,” she added.
On March 9, 2022, an Indian BrahMos cruise missile landed in a sparsely populated area near Mian Channu in Pakistan, causing no casualties. The Indian government had termed the incident an “accident”. However, Pakistan had summoned the Indian charge d’Affairs on March 11 and a strong protest was lodged with him.
Pakistan has also sought India’s response to some basic queries it had put forward to New Delhi, “such a serious matter cannot be addressed with the simplistic explanation.”
Some of the questions which Islamabad had put forward and New Delhi is yet to give any response, were:
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 actualize?
Are Indian missiles kept primed for launch even under routine maintenance?
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023