India: A ‘technical malfunction’ caused accidental missile fire into Pakistan

India’s defense ministry released a statement offering its side of the story on this week’s missile firing into Pakistan. According to the Friday statement, “in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile” on Wednesday.

“The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry,” the ministry said in the statement. “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.”

Pakistani officials said the unarmed missile crashed near the eastern Pakistan city of Mian Channu, about 310 miles from Islamabad. A senior Pakistani security official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity it was possibly a BrahMos missile – a nuclear-capable, land-attack cruise missile jointly developed by Russia and India. According to the U.S.-based Arms Control Association, the missile’s range is between 186 and 310 miles. That means it would be capable of hitting Islamabad from a northern Indian launch pad.

Pakistan’s foreign office summoned India’s charge d’affaires in Islamabad to lodge a protest over what it called an unprovoked violation of its airspace, saying the missile firing could have endangered passenger flights and civilian lives.

“The Indian Cd’A was told to convey to the Government of India Pakistan’s strong condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistani airspace in contravention of the established international norms and Aviation safety protocols,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a Friday news release. “Such irresponsible incidents were also reflective of India’s disregard for Air safety and callousness towards regional peace and stability.”