Islamabad has rejected New Delhi’s action on the accidental firing of a BrahMos missile that landed in Pakistan in March. The foreign ministry of Pakistan has reiterated its demand for a joint investigation in the matter.
On Tuesday, India’s defence ministry had terminated the services of three Indian Air Force officials, holding them guilty of deviating from the standard operating procedure.
The defence ministry had started an inquiry after Islamabad, on March 9, said that a high-speed Indian projectile had entered its airspace and crashed near Mian Channu city in Khanewal district, damaging some civilian property.
However, in a late-night statement on Wednesday, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said that it “rejects India’s purported closure” of the incident.
“As expected, the measures taken by India in the aftermath of the incident and the subsequent findings and punishments handed by the so-called internal Court of Inquiry are totally unsatisfactory, deficient and inadequate,” the statement said.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad claimed that India did not respond to Pakistan’s demand for a joint investigation and “evaded the questions raised by the country regarding the command and control system...the safety and security protocols and the reason for its delayed admission of the missile launch”.
After the accidental firing in March, India’s defence ministry had described the incident as “deeply regrettable” and said that the accidental firing took place due to a “technical malfunction” during a routine maintenance operation.
The clarification came after Pakistan summoned India’s envoy and sought a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident.
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