- பரணிதரன்
- BBC Tamil
Image source, DGISPR
Major General Pupar Iftikhar, Director General – Pakistan Army Public Relations (DGISPR)
The Indian government has said that the Indian missile, which penetrated 124 km in Pakistani airspace and fell to the ground there, was an accident. The government said India was deeply saddened by the incident and had appointed a high-level committee to look into the matter. What happened in this case?
Earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Indian embassy officials in Islamabad to protest the Indian missile strike.
Pakistan has asked its embassy officials to urge India to investigate the incident, which could endanger the lives of passenger planes and civilians.
The State Department said Pakistan had warned India to “take into account the undesirable consequences of such negligence”.
Although the incident took place on March 9, neither the Indian Ministry of Defense nor the Ministry of External Affairs commented on it until 5 pm on March 10 and March 11.
Meanwhile, security analysts on both sides warned of accidents or conflicts in the past that could result from misjudgments on both sides.
Military experts recall three wars, numerous border gun battles, and most recently in 2019 when two air forces collided in the air.
India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons with each other.
Image source, DGISPR
In this context, Ayesha Siddiqui, an expert on military affairs and South Asian affairs, took to Twitter to ask, “Looking at the recent incident, India and Pakistan need to talk about mitigating each other’s risks.
“Both countries are confident in controlling nuclear weapons, but if such incidents happen suddenly, they could have serious consequences,” Ayesha Siddiqui warned.
Poisons compared to BJP election victory
Meanwhile, the news of the Indian missile falling on Pakistani soil on March 9 was widely reported on the night of March 10.
The results of the Assembly elections in India for the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa were released on this day.
In the midst of those results, some began to share on social media that India was preparing for the next stage of an offensive targeting Pakistan, as it was in favor of the ruling BJP in the four states facing elections.
Following this, the Pakistani military appeared ready to speak openly on the issue.
Major General Pupar Iftikhar, the director general of the country’s military public relations department, called an emergency press conference in Rawalpindi on the evening of March 10. During the press conference, which lasted for about 30 minutes, only the issue of the Indian missile falling was discussed for 25 minutes.
“Through Pakistan Air Defense Radar, a high-speed device from India entered Pakistan at 6.45 pm on March 9 and was detected by the Air Force,” Iftikhar said.
“During the preliminary investigation, the device, which had penetrated into Pakistan’s airspace, crashed at around 6.50 pm in Mian Sannu, Kanewal district on the Pakistan border. As a result, there was little damage to civilian property. Fortunately no casualties were reported.”
“The Pakistan Air Force is constantly monitoring the airspace of the homeland. The device, which was launched from Sirsa, India, was monitored until it crashed into Pakistani soil.”
“The Air Force has taken precautionary measures in accordance with air safety regulations.
“Pakistan strongly opposes this blatant violation and warns that such an incident will not happen again in the future,” Major General Buffer said.
‘Blatant violation’
Pakistan Air Force Air Vice Marshal Tariq Zia told the media that at the time of the missile crash, the airspace of the two aircraft was in operation and several commercial airlines were operating in the area.
“The missile flew at an altitude of 40,000 feet, with planes flying at 35,000 to 42,000 feet on that route.
The Pakistani defense ministry said the missile had a range of 124 kilometers within Pakistani territory in 3 minutes and 44 seconds.
At the same time, there was no logistics or base of any security importance in the area of Mian Sun, where the missile fell. That high-velocity object could be a missile. However, the country’s security and public relations department clarified that there was no explosive device in it.
Image source, DGISPR
Part of an Indian missile that fell and caught fire in the Mian Sun area
“India has a responsibility to explain how this happened. The incident reflects negligence in maintaining air security and weakness in managing technical leadership,” Pfar Iftikhar said in a live press conference on the issue.
“We will wait until India responds as a responsible nation. We have now told everything we know. But it is up to India to explain what happened in Mian Sun,” he said. In this context, India clarified its position on the incident two days after the incident through a press release.
According to a press release issued by India through its defense ministry, the missile was accidentally activated on March 9 due to a technical glitch during routine maintenance. It is said that the Government of India has ordered a high-level inquiry into the matter.
Image source, DGISPR
“We know that the place where the missile crashed was part of Pakistan. The incident is deeply regrettable.
N.C., editor of Delhi-based Defense Capital Bipindra said, “The missile incident must have been accidental because the words used to describe the incident were carefully selected at a press conference by Pakistan’s military.
N.C. Bipindra has been overseeing information related to security issues for over 20 years. We asked him what kind of rules would be followed when conducting such a missile maintenance test.
“The area where the latest missile test took place is in Rajasthan. If such a test takes place in India or Pakistan, the neighboring country will be duly informed about it within 24 hours. It should be noted that, “says Bibindra.
The Pakistani military and Indian security forces called the device that entered Pakistan from Indian soil “a specific device or missile-like device” without ‘identifying its identity’.
But considering the distance, altitude and power that the device flew, it must have been a high-speed supersonic Promos missile. Defense experts say it should have been used for testing as a mere container unloaded with explosives.
Other News: