Reported by: Ch. Muhammad Natiq Ubaid
Pakistan was just minutes away from launching a devastating retaliatory strike after India accidentally fired a missile in Pakistani territory last week, high-level sources close to Pakistan Army’s top brass have anonymously disclosed. However, Pakistan restrained itself from striking back immediately as the initial assessment of the missile misfire incident showed that something was definitely wrong.
While the word from sources demonstrates prudent decision-making by top Pakistani military officials, it also shows how India’s blunder could have jeopardized the regional stability and lives of over 1.5 billion people in two countries. On 9 March, BrahMos, a medium-range cruise missile of India, was accidentally fired from Ambala, a district in the Indian province of Haryana, which entered into Pakistani territory and landed in Mian Channu in District Khanewal.
The incident occurred due to human negligence and technical error during routine checking of IAF’s missile systems to determine their ability to launch an offensive in the least amount of time. During a high-level press briefing the next day, DG ISPR, Major General Babar Iftikhar, confirmed that India had fired a missile into Pakistan which resulted in no loss of life.
A day after, Indian Defense Ministry issued an official statement on the episode and said that India ‘regretted’ firing a missile into Pakistan due to a technical malfunction.
