ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Dr. Moeed Yusuf said on Friday the “real circumstances” surrounding India’s missile launch should be probed to establish if it had actually happened accidentally.
In a press briefing held in Rawalpindi on Thursday, Pakistan’s military spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar said a supersonic flying object from India had violated his country’s airspace before crashing into its territory.
India acknowledged the “accidental firing” of missile on Friday, saying it regretted the incident and had launched a court of inquiry.
Yusuf urged the world, however, to “treat this incident with the urgency, sensitivity & alarm it deserves” by looking into what really caused the missile launch.
“It is hard to believe anything this Indian government says,” he said in a series of Twitter posts. “Therefore, the real circumstances surrounding this incident must also be investigated to ascertain if this was an inadvertent launch or something more intentional.”
He maintained India’s “irresponsible behavior” had posed a threat to regional stability, adding that Pakistan’s warnings to the world had been ignored.
“In a nuclear environment, such callousness & ineptitude raises questions about the safety & security of Indian weapon systems,” he added. “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.”
Yusuf maintained the recent incident had raised “serious questions about India’s ability to handle such sensitive technology” since the “missile traveled close to the path of international and domestic commercial airlines and threatened the safety of civilians.”
The last point was also highlighted by Pakistan’s military spokesperson who noted during his press briefing that the incident could have caused a “major aviation disaster.”
Responding to the development, the defense wing of India’s press information bureau issued a brief statement on Friday, saying: “On 9 March 2022, in the course of a 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 statement added: “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.”
Yusuf, however, pointed out it had taken more than two days for India to acknowledge the 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,” he said, adding: “Given this incident, and earlier ones, the world must consider whether India is able to ensure the safety and security of its nuclear and other high-end weapon systems.”
Earlier this month, the Pakistan Navy detected an Indian submarine off the country’s coast and prevented it from entering its waters.
The military’s media wing revealed at the time that it was the fourth such attempt by an India vessel which had been foiled by Pakistan.
During his news conference on Thursday, Major General Iftikhar informed that the Pakistan Air Force had detected the flying object from its point of origin and continued to monitor it until it reached the point of impact.
He added the tactical actions of the air force were put in place from the moment the object was found headed toward Pakistan.
The military spokesperson also expressed his satisfaction with the response on the Pakistani side, calling it “perfect.”
