India claims it launched a missile into Pakistan by mistake on Wednesday, citing a "technical malfunction" during routine maintenance as the cause.
It was "very regretful," according to Delhi, which expressed satisfaction that no one was killed. According to Pakistan's military, a "high-speed flying object" crashed near the eastern city of Mian Channu, endangering passenger aircraft.
India Admits Accidentally Firing Missile Into Pakistan
Islamabad cautioned Delhi to be wary of the unfavorable implications of such carelessness and to avoid repeating the mistake. According to the report, the missile was launched from Sirsa in the state of Haryana.
According to Pakistan's air force, the missile traveled 124 kilometers (77 miles) through Pakistani territory at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound, at a height of 12,000 meters (40,000 feet).
Pakistan's foreign ministry said on Friday that it has summoned India's chargé d'affaires to lodge a complaint over the event. Pakistan has demanded that India reveal the results of its inquiry into the incident, as per BBC News.
The statement came hours after Islamabad's foreign ministry condemned an "unprovoked violation of its airspace" by an Indian-made "super-sonic flying object," which damaged some civilian property but was "certainly unarmed," according to Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations, a wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
The rash launch had caused property damage on the ground and placed human lives and planes in Pakistani airspace in jeopardy, it claimed, accusing India of being unconcerned about regional peace and stability.
In Indian-administered Kashmir, where rebel groups have fought for decades for the region's independence or union with Pakistan, New Delhi has around 500,000 troops stationed.
Experts Tell How a Missile Launch Mistake Could Lead to Worse Scenario
According to Daily Mail, New Delhi accuses Islamabad of supporting the rebels, which the Pakistani government denies. After a suicide attack claimed by a Pakistan-based militant organization killed 40 Indian troops, Indian jets targeted what New Delhi said as a terrorist training site deep within Pakistan in 2019.
At least one Indian plane was shut down and its pilot arrested by Pakistan in aerial clashes over Kashmir the next day, but Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered him freed as a "peace gesture."
The inadvertent hit, according to Michael Kugelman, senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center in Washington, demonstrates how rapidly an event like this may evolve into something worse. The incident might have resulted in a massive aircraft tragedy as well as human deaths on the ground, according to General Iftikhar.
Iftikhar said that Pakistan's air defense system intercepted the surface-to-surface missile as soon as it took off from Sirsa, India, some 104 kilometers from the Pakistani border, and "continuously tracked" its whole flight path.
The missile was flying at a height of 12 kilometers and lingered in Pakistani territory for 204 seconds before landing 124 kilometers within Pakistan, according to the general. He refused to reveal if the Indian missile had been shot down.
According to VOA, both India and Pakistan are nuclear-armed foes that have fought three wars since winning independence from British control in 1947. In recent years, bilateral relations have worsened, disrupting formal negotiations over the partitioned Kashmir area, which both nations claim in its entirety.
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