Indian missile "malfunction": Pakistan seeks joined probe

Chennai: Regarding the "accidental" incident in which an Indian missile went rogue, breaching Pakistan airspace and crashing 124 km into its territory, Pakistan sought a joint probe. However, both nations exercised restraint, avoiding escalations, The Indian Express reported.

In a statement on Saturday, Pakistan's defence ministry asserted that India ordering an internal court inquiry is not sufficient, but a joint probe to accurately establish the facts on the incident is essential. It said that the grave nature of the incident questions India's security protocols and technical safeguards.

The Pakistan defence ministry raised seven questions in a statement regarding the incident, which included whether the missile was equipped with a self-destructive mechanism and, if it did, why did it fail. Further, it asked whether India launches missiles even if they are under maintenance.

Before the Indian government's statement explaining the "mistake", there were false flags and theories against Pakistan I social media. However, explanations from India cleared them.

Pakistan has waited a full day before announcing the Indian missile crashing into their land. Inter-Services Public Relations chief Major General Babar Iftikhar said that though Pakistan is not ruling out the chances of an accident and the rocket was unarmed, he insisted that India explain.

Happymon Jacob, an expert who leads a Track 2 dialogue between the two-nation, said that the episode had the best outcomes so far since such an incident could have invited a very lethal crisis.

But, said Frank O'Donnell, Deputy Director of the South Asia program at the Washington-based Stimson Center, says that restrain between both nations might not have led to an escalation of the incident, but India's international credibility as a responsible nuclear weapon state could take a hit. He said that India should take corrective measures like reassuring its own citizens and the world of the surety of its weaponry by suspension of missile tests and conducting a review of the command-and-control procedures. Further, India should exchange formal letters with Pakistan extending the 2005 ballistic missile test pre-notification agreement to include cruise missiles. Agreement on a similar protocol for immediate notification of the accidental launch of rockets is also needed, he added.