An accidental missile fired by India last week prompted Pakistan to prepare a retaliatory strike, people familiar with the matter said, showing how close the nuclear-armed neighbors came to blows over a potentially disastrous mistake. The Indian Air Force fired the BrahMos medium-range cruise missile on March 9 from the garrison town of Ambala, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital New Delhi, according to people familiar with the matter in India.
Pakistan had prepared to launch a similar missile to strike India but held back because an initial assessment indicated something was amiss, people familiar with the matter said. While talking to Global Times on condition of anonymity, a defence analyst of Pakistan told that the incident has inherent risks, and it could have led to retaliation and escalation.
Pakistan has vehemently protested and denounced the Indian-made supersonic missile violating Pakistan’s airspace last week. Pakistan has also demanded a full and transparent probe into the event, which Pakistan says demonstrates India’s contempt for flight safety and regional peace and security.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Foreign Office stated that this serious situation cannot be resolved with the Indian authorities’ “simplistic explanation” and that Pakistan requires a joint investigation to accurately uncover the facts surrounding the event.
China, on Monday, called on Pakistan and India to launch a thorough investigation into the violation of Pakistani airspace by an intruding Indian supersonic missile.
Addressing a weekly news briefing on Monday in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian urged to establish a notification mechanism in time to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and miscalculations. “We call on relevant countries to have dialogue and communication as soon as possible and launch a thorough investigation into this incident, strengthen information sharing, and establish a notification mechanism in time to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and miscalculations,” he added.
He said that India and Pakistan are two important countries in the region of South Asia and they share the responsibility to uphold the region’s collective security and end instability. Lijian also said that the Chinese side has noted the information regarding the airspace violation incident. Earlier, a Chinese former defence attache in a South Asian country asked the world community to probe Indian so-called clarification on supersonic projectile crash into Pakistani territory.
Quoting analysts, the prestigious English news and view outlet of China, Global Times reported that India’s neighboring countries including China, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan should also be concerned about its lack of effective security protocols or technical safeguards because this could potentially turn into unexpected consequences under complex situations.
The Pakistani military used restraint in the incident after carefully assessing the scenario and considering a variety of circumstances, according to the expert, who also noted that forbearance is not always the case.
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