India, on Friday, clarified that the missile that landed in Pakistani territory on March 9, was a ‘regrettable’ incident of technical malfunction which led to an accidental firing.
Expressing relief that there has been no loss of life, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the Government of India (GoI) has taken a serious view of the development and ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the incident.
“On 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
According to the MoD statement, the missile landed in an area of Pakistan but caused no loss of life. “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,” the MoD said.
‘Object’ landed near Mia Channu: DG ISPR, Pakistan
The clarification from the MoD came after Pakistan, on Thursday, claimed that an unarmed Indian missile landed 124 km inside Pakistani territory.
“A high-speed flying object was picked up inside Indian flying territory by Air Defence Operations Centre of the Pakistani Air Force. From its initial course the object suddenly maneuvered towards Pakistani territory and violated Pakistan’s airspace ultimately falling near Mia Channu,” Major General Babar Iftikhar, Director General, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press conference on Thursday.
