'Profound level of incompetence': Islamabad seeks joint probe into India's accidental missile fire on Pak territory

A day after India acknowledged that a “technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile” that landed in Pakistan, Islamabad on Saturday demanded a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident.

Pakistan also disregared New Delhi's decision to hold an internal inquiry into the incident and call on the international community to play a role.

"We have taken note of the Press Statement by the Indian Press Information Bureau’s Defence Wing regretting the ‘accidental firing’ of the Indian origin missile into Pakistani territory on 9 March 2022 due to “technical malfunction” and decision to hold an internal Court of Inquiry," Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement.

Raising a series of questions, it said that India must explain the measures and procedures in place to prevent accidental missile launches and the particular circumstances of this incident.

"The grave nature of the incident raises several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorised launch of missiles in a nuclearised environment," it further said.

Terming it as a "profound level of incompetence", the Pak ministry called upon the Government of India to explain "if the missile was indeed handled by its armed forces or some rogue elements."

Pakistan further demanded clarifications from India over its safety mechanism to prevent accidental missile launches, and whether it was appropriately handled by its armed forces.

A missile was fired accidentally from the Indian side into an area in Pakistan earlier this week, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday, blaming the incident on a "technical malfunction" that was "deeply regrettable".

"On 9 March 2022, in the course of 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 Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

(with sources inputs)