India Friday regretted the "accidental firing of a missile" from its territory after Pakistan summoned India’s Charge d’Affaires to convey its strong protest over the alleged unprovoked violation of its airspace,  and also sought a thorough and transparent investigation of the incident. 

A statement from India's Ministry of Defence Friday evening said "On 9 March, 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile.

"It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan. While the incident is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident," the statement added.

It further said that the Government of India had taken a serious view of the matter and a high-level court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

On Thursday, the Pakistan military said an Indian-origin “super-sonic flying object” entered into Pakistan from Suratgarh in India at 6.43 pm (local time) on March 9, which later fell on the ground near Mian Chunnu city in Pakistan’s Punjab province at around 6:50 pm, causing damage to civilian property.

In a statement on Thursday night, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said, “The Indian Cd’A was told to convey to the Government of India Pakistan’s strong condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistani airspace in contravention of the established international norms and aviation safety protocols.”

“The Indian diplomat was conveyed that the imprudent launch of the flying object not only caused damage to civilian property but also put at risk human lives on the ground,” the Foreign Office said.

It further added that the flight path of the flying object endangered several domestic and international flights within the Pakistani airspace and could have resulted in a serious aviation accident as well as civilian casualties. 

Pakistan also added that India was cautioned to be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence and take effective measures to avoid the recurrence of such violations in future.  

The Pakistani allegations come in the wake of reports of several drone intrusions into Indian airspace from Pakistan last year. 

(SAM)