Published: 11.03.2022 – 18:25
The missile, launched during routine maintenance, did not cause any casualties, according to the Indian Ministry of Defense.
The Indian Army accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan, causing no casualties, the Indian Defense Ministry said on Friday, calling the act “deeply regrettable.”
“As part of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to an accidental launch of a rocket on Wednesday, and it landed in the Pakistan area,” the ministry said in a statement. “The fact that there were no fatalities in the accident is a relief,” he added.
The Indian Ministry of Defense did not specify what the missile was, but said a high-level investigation had been launched.
“Wrongful Violation”
This statement by the Indian Ministry of Defense comes hours after the Pakistani Foreign Ministry condemned what it called an “undue violation” of Pakistani airspace by a “supersonic flying object” of Indian origin.
The Pakistani ministry added that it had summoned the charge d’affaires of India in Islamabad, who was “strongly protested”.
This “reckless shooting” damaged buildings on the ground and endangered the lives of civilians as well as aircraft in Pakistani airspace, again according to Pakistan’s foreign ministry, which accuses its Indian neighbor of being “insensitive to regional peace and stability”.
historical tension
India, a predominantly Hindu country, and Pakistan, a Muslim country, have fought three wars since the end of British colonization in 1947, including two over the issue of governing the disputed territory of Kashmir.
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The two countries maintain a strong military presence on both sides of their common border, and tensions have gone so far as to raise fears of a nuclear confrontation.
In 2019, India bombed what New Delhi says is a terrorist training camp deep in Pakistan after a suicide attack claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group claimed responsibility for killing 40 Indian soldiers.
The following day, in air skirmishes over Kashmir, at least one Indian aircraft was shot down and its pilot captured by Pakistan, but Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan released him in a “peace gesture”.
New Delhi has deployed more than 500,000 troops to Indian-controlled Kashmir, where insurgent groups have fought for decades for the region’s independence or merger with Pakistan. New Delhi continues to accuse Islamabad of supporting the rebels, which it has always denied.