Pakistan rejected India’s closure over the March 9 hypersonic missile launch incident on Pakistani soil and reiterated its demand for a joint investigation, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The Indian Air Force said Tuesday at the end of its investigation that the government had fired three officers for accidentally firing a missile into Pakistan in March. The BrahMos missile, a nuclear-capable cruise missile jointly developed by Russia and India – was launched on March 9, prompting Pakistan to seek answers from New Delhi about the safeguards in place to prevent accidental launches . “Pakistan categorically rejects India’s alleged closure of the highly irresponsible incident and reiterates its demand for a joint investigation,” a foreign ministry statement said. The steps taken by India after the incident and the subsequent findings and punishments imposed by the so-called “domestic court of inquiry” are completely unsatisfactory, incomplete and inadequate, he added. “India has not only failed to respond to Pakistan’s request for a joint investigation, but has also avoided questions raised by Pakistan about the command and control system in place in India, security protocols and the reason for India’s delayed acceptance . the missile launch,” the statement added. The Indian Air Force said in a statement on Tuesday, “A Court of Inquiry, constituted to ascertain the facts of the case, including determining responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from Standard Operating Procedures by three officers led to the accidental firing . of the rocket”. He added that the government has dismissed the three officers with immediate effect.
Safety concerns
The incident, which may have been the first of its kind, immediately raised questions about the safeguards in place to prevent accidental launches and raised concerns that both countries possess nuclear weapons. Pakistani officials said the missile was unarmed and crashed near the country’s eastern city of Mian Channu, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital Islamabad. According to the US-based Arms Control Association, the missile’s range is between 300 km (186 miles) and 500 km (310 miles), making it capable of hitting Islamabad from a launch base in northern India. Following the incident, Pakistan’s foreign office summoned India’s charge d’affaires in Islamabad to protest an unprovoked violation of its airspace, saying the incident could endanger passenger flights and civilian lives. Pakistan warned India “to bear in mind the unfortunate consequences of such negligence and take effective measures to avoid recurrence of such violations in future”. Military experts have previously warned of the risk of accidents or miscalculations by the neighbours, who have fought three wars and engaged in several military clashes, most recently in 2019 which saw the two’s air forces engaged in combat.
