Pakistan had almost prepared to launch a retaliatory missile strike on India minutes after the Indian missile stuck a house in Pakistan, a report in Bloomberg claimed, but Pakistani officials held back the launch as they noticed “something was amiss.” New Delhi later acknowledged the accidental launch of the unidentified missile and regretted the incident.  

A recent report in Bloomberg, which cited senior defense officials in Pakistan, claimed that the "accidental" launch of an unarmed Brahmos mid-range missile by India had almost led to escalation between the two nuclear-armed countries in South Asia.

Pakistan, the report claimed,  held back because an initial assessment indicated something was amiss. The missile, which had not caused any casualties, was fired from Harayana’s Ambala district and damaged a residential property in Pakistan. 

However, a few reports in Indian media, citing Indian officials, said the flight path described by Pakistan wasn't correct and it wasn’t launched from the base they were claiming. 

Bloomberg report also claimed that India didn't use the direct hotline between the top army commanders on both sides to inform Pakistan. However, Indian media reported senior military officials of the two countries had managed to make contact soon after the launch of the missile to avoid miscommunication and subsequent escalation.  

On Tuesday, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament that a review of Standard Operating Procedures for operations, maintenance, and inspections is already underway. "India gives utmost priority to the safety and security of its missile systems and any gap revealed by the probe will be addressed," he assured.

On Tuesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, if Pakistan's Air Force didn't pick it up inside India and it was matched with an accident reaction", the consequences would have been "very serious".

Pakistan has demanded a joint probe into the incident—a demand New Delhi is unlikely to accept. Meanwhile, the US and China have called for dialogue and talks between the two countries to discuss the issues of mutual concern. 
 
The US has also ruled about any possibility of the incident being anything beyond the accident.

"We have no indication as you also heard from our Indian partners that this incident was anything other than an accident," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters earlier this week.

(SAM)