Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday briefed Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres on the so-called “accidental” missile launch by India on March 9, which landed in Pakistani territory, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a telephonic conversation with Guterres, Qureshi underlined that it was a blatant breach of the airspace of Pakistan, indicating India’s defiance of aviation safety and regional peace and security.
The foreign minister reiterated that Pakistan supports regional peace and stability and continues to act with restraint and responsibility.
Qureshi asked for a joint investigation into the incident, highlighting that India’s management of strategic weapons has a number of flaws and technological errors. He further said that the missile incident is a proof of the irresponsible behavior of India. The FM urged the international community, especially the United Nations Security Council, to be a party to the issue.
Indian missile ‘accidentally’ landed in Pakistan
India issued a statement on March 11 that a missile accidentally landed in Pakistan maintaining that the missile was fired due to a “technical malfunction” during routine maintenance.
“On March 9, 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile,” the Indian government said in a statement. “It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan. While the incident is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident,” it added.
The statement further added that the Indian government has taken the matter seriously and has ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry.
Pakistan demanded explanation from India
The development came a day after the spokesperson for the Pakistan Army, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) held a press conference to share with media that “a high-speed flying object” launched from India landed in Pakistan’s Mian Channu area on March 9, causing some damage to the surrounding areas.
The incident could have led to a major aviation disaster as well as civilian casualties on the ground, said the DG ISPR.
“Pakistan strongly protests this flagrant violation and cautions against the recurrence of any such incident in the future,” he asserted. “Whatever has caused this, we will wait for an explanation from the Indian side,” he reiterated, adding that the Pakistani armed forces are fully prepared to deal with all such scenarios.