Pakistan rejects Indian statement on accidental missile launch

Gulf Today Report

Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said on Tuesday Islamabad rejected a statement by India's defence minister on the accidental missile launch.

Qureshi told journalists the Indian statement was "incomplete" and said he had written to the UN Security Council on the matter and asked the international community to take the matter up.

Meanwhile, India's defense minister said Tuesday the country's missile systems were "very reliable and safe” after one was accidentally fired last week and landed in a residential area inside nuclear-armed rival Pakistan.

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Defense Minister Rajnath Singh told India's parliament a formal inquiry was ordered to determine the cause of the firing and that any shortcomings would be fixed immediately. He did not say which missile was mistakenly launched.

Pakistan said the unarmed surface-to-surface missile violated Pakistan’s airspace and damaged a wall in a residential area in Punjab province on Wednesday. No casualties were reported.

Anger over the misfiring has grown in Pakistan, where officials have demanded a joint investigation.

"The grave nature of the incident raises several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorized launch of missiles in a nuclearised environment,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. It demanded India release more details and why India failed to immediately inform Pakistan afterward.