Pakistan Rejects India's Explanation of Accidental Missile Launch

Pakistan NSA Moeed Yusuf called the explanation provided by India "simplistic" and unacceptable to Islamabad.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. 

(Photo: IANS)

Pakistan on Tuesday, 15 March, rejected explanations offered by India regarding the "accidental firing" of a missile by the country on Pakistani soil, an incident that, Pakistan says, could have led to a "major disaster", news agency PTI reported.

In an extremely rare incident, India on 9 March "accidentally" fired a missile that landed in the country's Punjab province, raising questions immediately about the safety mechanisms of such armament.

Pakistan Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while addressing a press conference about the issue on Tuesday, said, "What Indian Defence Minister had said in the Lok Sabha is incomplete and insufficient. It is not enough to satisfy Pakistan. I reject that and demand a joint probe."

India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had made a statement in Parliament, saying that he had taken serious note of the issue and would conduct a high-level inquiry to determine the cause of the incident.

"I'd like to assure the House that our missile system is highly reliable and safe. Our safety procedure and protocols are high level," Singh said.

'Major Concern': Pak Army Chief

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said, "The forum reviewed with concern, the recent incident of missile firing, claimed as accidental by India, which could have resulted in a major disaster".

He made these comments while addressing a Corps commanders’ conference in Rawalpindi.

The media wing of the Pakistani Army also put out a statement, saying, "It was emphasised that despite Indian acknowledgment of the mistake, relevant international forums must take a serious view of the incident and subject the safety and security protocols of Indian strategic assets to deliberate oversight."

It also added that such incidents could trigger and endanger regional peace and strategic stability, PTI reported.

'Simplistic Explanation By India': Pak NSA

Earlier Pakistan's National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf had also commented on the issue, calling the explanation provided by India "simplistic" and unacceptable to Islamabad.

"India has again claimed that the launch of its missile into Pakistan on 9 March was an accident during routine maintenance. This simplistic explanation without evidence is insufficient and should be unacceptable to the world," he had said, as per a report by PTI.

He had also added that Pakistan acted responsibly by not escalating the issue.

(With inputs from PTI.)