No one was killed in the ‘deeply regrettable’ incident on Wednesday, New Delhi’s Defence Ministry said. A ‘technical malfunction’ has been blamed, with officials ordering a high-level investigation.
The confession came after Pakistan’s armed forces accused India of endangering lives with the ‘unprovoked violation of its airspace’.
In dramatic scenes, the foreign office summoned India’s charge d’affaires in Islamabad to lodge a protest over the incident.
A warning has been issued for India ‘to be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence and take effective measures to avoid the recurrence off such violations in future’.
The neighbours – which both have nuclear weapons – have fought three wars and have engaged in numerous military clashes.
A statement released by India’s Ministry of Defence today read: ‘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. ‘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 incident.’
