India has on Friday, confirmed that it mistakenly fired a missile into Pakistan on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.
However, according to the Indian Ministry of Defence, it was an accidental firing caused by a technical problem and it is regrettable.
The government of India while noting that an investigation will be carried out on the matter, expressed relief that no casualty was recorded.
“On March 9, 2022, during routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental missile firing,” a Twitter post by the Ministry of Defence in India reads.
‘The Government of India has taken serious view and ordered court of enquiry. Missile landed in Pakistan area.
“Incident is regrettable and matter of relief that there’s been no loss of life.”
On 9 Mar 2022 during routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to accidental #missile firing
Govt of #India has taken serious view & ordered Court of Enquiry
Missile landed in Pakistan area
Incident is regrettable & matter of relief that there's been no loss of life pic.twitter.com/y4xjsJRjbh
— PRO Defence Gujarat (@DefencePRO_Guj) March 11, 2022
Reacting to the development, the national security adviser of Pakistan, Moeed Yusuf said the missile threatened the safety of civilians and had to be shut down by its military.
He added that it remains questionable why India would have to wait for about two days before acknowledging that it fired the missile into another country’s territory.
Yusuf added that the incident raises questions about the ability of India to manage such sensitive weapons.
“On March 9th, a supersonic projectile from India traveling at 40,000 feet covered over 250 km & landed inside Pakistani territory,” he wrote on Twitter.
“It has taken more than 2 days for India to accept that this was their missile launched ostensibly due to a technical malfunction during maintenance.
“This raises serious questions about India’s ability to handle such sensitive technology. This missile traveled close to the path of international and domestic commercial airlines and threatened the safety of civilians,” Yusuf added.
He accused India of callousness for waiting that long before officially informing Pakistan about the missile incident.
“It is also highly irresponsible of Indian authorities not to have informed Pakistan immediately that an inadvertent launch of a cruise missile had taken place.
“In a nuclear environment, such callousness & ineptitude raises questions about the safety & security of Indian weapon systems. Already, there have been multiple incidents of uranium theft in India and its citizens have even been arrested while smuggling uranium in the recent past.”
On March 9th, a supersonic projectile from India traveling at 40,000 feet covered over 250 km & landed inside Pakistani territory. It has taken more than 2 days for India to accept that this was their missile launched ostensibly due to a technical malfunction during maintenance.
— Moeed W. Yusuf (@YusufMoeed) March 11, 2022
Meanwhile, Naija News reports that the rivalry between the two countries over the control of the Kashmir territory dates back several years and both India and Pakistan control nuclear weapons.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News