Indian journalists, military experts hailing Pakistan for prudent response: BBC

ISLAMABAD, Mar 13: India says it accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan on Wednesday, blaming the incident on a “technical malfunction” during routine maintenance.

 

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in an analysis posted on its website said, “Any object entering the airspace of any country is considered an attack. In such a case, the defense rules and regulations say that in case of a missile, you should also retaliate. So not doing so on Pakistan’s part is a wise decision as well.”

 

These are the words of Sashant Singh, a senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research in India, who praised Pakistan’s “resolved response” to the accidental landing of an Indian BrahMos missile on March 9, 2022 in Mian Channu, Pakistan.

 

Sashant Singh is not the only Indian voice praising Pakistan in this regard. Due to the strained relations between Pakistan and India, recent events and nuclear capabilities, the question remains whether this ‘accidental missile’ fire could have caused tension between the two countries.

 

But this did not happen, for which many Indian journalists and military experts are giving credit to the Pakistani government, especially at a time when it took two days for India to admit.

 

It should be noted that on March 9, an unexpected incident took place in Mian Channu town of Khanewal district of Pakistan. In which a very fast object flying over the local residential area.

 

Maj. Gen. Babar Iftikhar, Director General, ISPR, told a press conference on March 10 that “the thing that fell into Mian Channu while flying at high speed was probably an Indian missile.”

 

The next day, March 11, the Indian Ministry of Defense acknowledged in a statement that “the missile was accidentally fired due to a technical malfunction during routine maintenance.” The Indian Ministry of Defense has also ordered a high-level inquiry.

 

Speaking to the BBC, Sashant Singh, said: “Thankfully, no casualties were reported.”

 

What would have happened, Sashant asked, if the missile had hit a big city; thankfully, no casualty took place. He said that Pakistan’s defense system is much better. “Even so, no defense system can determine whether a cross-border missile has been fired accidentally.”

 

He said that any object entering the airspace of any country is considered as an attack. In such a case, the defense rules and regulations say that in case of missiles, you should also retaliate. So not doing so on Pakistan’s part is a wise decision as well.

 

Moeed Yousuf, security adviser to the Pakistani prime minister, said in a statement on Twitter on March 11 that the supersonic missile had reached the Pakistani border at an altitude of 40,000 feet. After the launch of this missile, it took two days for India to be informed that the missile was launched by accident.

 

It should be noted that the statement of the Indian Ministry of Defense regarding the missile came to light on March 11, two days after the incident.

 

In his statement, Moeed expressed concern over the relations between Pakistan and India and said that a fascist ideology was being pursued in India at present under which an attempt was made to attack Pakistan in 2019.

 

Praveen Sohne, editor of the Indian military magazine Force, told the BBC: Pakistan has “acted prudently in this matter which should take place in a democratic government”. And alongside this, questions on India should continue to be raised, but there should be no mention of the use of weapons and retaliation.

 

Commenting on the statement of the Indian Ministry of Defense, Sashant said, “This is a cursory statement which cannot be taken seriously unless the Indian Ministry of Defense clarifies why it happened. And the results of the inquiry in this regard should be shared with Pakistan.

 

“There was no news from the Indian DGMO hotline,” said Sashant Singh. It should be noted that the hotline link between Pakistan and the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army can be used for emergency exchange of information in any emergency situation.

 

After this incident, there was a discussion on social media that it has nothing to do with the upcoming elections in India. In some statements, the incident is also being portrayed as a ‘Modi conspiracy’.

 

But the state elections in India were over on March 7 and the results were out by March 10.

 

Experts in both countries are watching with concern the statement about the accidental launch of the missile in the wake of these incidents.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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