Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday told Parliament that India’s missile systems are “highly reliable and safe” after New Delhi last week admitted that it had accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan.
Pakistan had said that a high-speed Indian projectile had crashed near Mian Channu city of the country’s Khanewal district on March 9. Pakistani authorities said that the missile had damaged civilian property.
On March 11, India expressed regret and said a court of inquiry had been ordered into the matter. The defence ministry said a “technical malfunction” during routine maintenance led to the misfire.
On Tuesday, Singh told the Rajya Sabha that a high-level inquiry has been ordered to find out the exact cause.
“...Standard operating procedures of operations, maintenance and inspections are also being reviewed,” Singh said. “If any shortcoming found in this context, it will immediately be rectified.”
China calls for India-Pakistan dialogue
Meanwhile, China on Monday said that India and Pakistan should hold talks as soon as possible to discuss the accidental firing of the missile.
“They both [India and Pakistan] bear responsibilities for maintaining regional security and stability,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press conference.
Zhao added that India and Pakistan should look thoroughly into the matter. “They should step up information sharing, and promptly establish a reporting mechanism so that such incidents will not happen again,” he added.
On the same day, the United States backed India and said that the incident was “accidental”, PTI reported.
“We have no indication as you also heard from our Indian partners that this incident was anything other than an accident,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told a reporter during a press briefing.
On Monday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that his country observed restraint despite the misfiring. On Saturday, Islamabad had demanded a joint investigation into the matter. The Indian government has not given a specific response to Pakistan’s demand. In his statement to Parliament too, Singh made no mention of any such collaboration.
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