Missile case: Pakistan's response appreciated, questions being asked to India

Posted on 14th Mar 2022 by rohit kumar

"Anything that enters the airspace of any country is considered an attack. In such a situation, the defense rules and laws say that in case of a missile coming, you should also retaliate. So do not do this from Pakistan's side. It is wise to do so as well as a settled decision."

 

These words are from Sushant Singh, a Senior Fellow at India's Center for Policy Research, who has praised Pakistan's "resolved response" after the Indian BrahMos missile "accidentally" fell on Mian Channu, Pakistan on March 9, 2022.

 

Sushant Singh is not the only Indian who has praised Pakistan in this regard. Tensioned relations between India and Pakistan, recent events, and nuclear capabilities have left the question in place as to whether this 'accidental missile' could have led to conflict between the two countries.

 

But this did not happen, many Indian journalists and military experts are giving credit to the Pakistani government, especially at a time when it took two days for India to accept it.

 

It is worth mentioning that on March 9, an unexpected incident happened in Mian Channu town of Khanewal district of Pakistan. In which a flying object at a very high speed fell over the local residential area.

 

Major Babar Iftikhar, Director General of the Public Relations Department (ISPR) of the Pakistan Army, said in a press conference on 10 March that "the high-speed object that fell into Mian Channu was probably an Indian missile."

 

The next day, March 11, the Indian Defense Ministry acknowledged in a statement that "the missile was accidentally fired due to a technical fault during routine maintenance." And the Defense Ministry of India has also ordered a high-level investigation.

 

"What if the missile went towards a big city?"

 

Speaking to the BBC, Sushant Singh, a senior fellow at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi, said, "The focus of the whole debate right now is what would have happened if this missile went towards a big city? There was no loss of life."

 

Sushant said that Pakistan's defense system is much better. "But despite this, no defense system can predict whether a missile fired from across the border was accidentally fired or not."

 

He said that anything that enters the airspace of any country is considered an attack. In such a situation, the defense rules and laws say that in case of a missile coming, you should also retaliate. Therefore, not doing so on the part of Pakistan is sensible as well as a settled decision.

 

questions being asked from India

 

Adviser to Pakistan's Prime Minister on Security, Moeed Yusuf said in a statement on Twitter on March 11 that a supersonic missile at an altitude of 40,000 feet came into Pakistan's territory. After the launch of this missile, it took two days for India to tell that the missile was launched by mistake.

 

It is worth noting that the statement of the Indian Defense Ministry regarding the missile came to the fore on March 11, two days after the incident.

 

Expressing concern over relations between Pakistan and India, Moeed Yusuf said that a fascist ideology is being adopted in India at this time, under which an attempt was made to attack Pakistan in 2019.

 

Some similar questions have been asked from the Pakistan Foreign Ministry as well.

 

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that 'this incident has given rise to more questions that need to be answered.

 

He said that India should clarify what measures exist to prevent incidents like accidental missile firing, in particular, Pakistan should be informed about the details of this incident.

 

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in the statement- "India will have to tell Pakistan what is the type and description of the missile that fell on Pakistani soil. India will also have to give an explanation on which path the missile was on and how it suddenly changed its course and Pakistan I entered."

 

Pakistan has asked many questions to India. For example, he has also asked whether missiles are always kept ready to fire in India even during routine exercises and maintenance? Why did India not immediately inform Pakistan that the missile was fired by mistake and wait for this? Why was it done that this incident would be announced by Pakistan and an explanation would be sought?

 

It has asked that because of such a huge inefficiency, India will also have to clarify whether its missiles are actually in the hands of its armed forces or someone else's.

 

The statement clarified that due to the short distance and response time between the two countries, any such incident could be misinterpreted as a retaliatory strike by either side, with dire consequences. The international community should take such incidents among nuclear-rich countries seriously.

 

Pakistan has also said that India's decision to investigate the incident through an internal court is insufficient. Islamabad says that the missile has fallen within the border of Pakistan, so a joint investigation should be done to find out the facts of this incident.

 

Many other experts have also made several statements about how the situation of uncertainty in the region could arise if the matter escalates between the two nuclear-armed countries.

 

Praveen Sahni, the editor of the Indian military magazine 'Force', believes that 'talking that both the countries are armed with nuclear weapons and can use it is an irresponsible statement, it will create more panic and fight. Efforts are being made to elevate it.

 

Also Read: Imran Khan's threat to India PAK Prime Minister said - We could have answered India's missile, but we acted consciously

 

He told the BBC, "Pakistan has acted wisely in this matter which should be in a democratic government" but this should not soften the question raised on India and questions should be asked but on the use of weapons and retaliation. It's not okay to insist."

 

"India's statement cannot be taken seriously"

 

Commenting on the statement of the Defense Ministry of India, Sushant Sarin said, "This is a cursory statement which cannot be taken seriously unless it is clarified by the Ministry of Defense of India as to why it happened. And The results of the investigation in this regard should be shared with Pakistan.

 

Sushant Singh said that "no news was given even from the hotline of the Indian DGMO."

 

Keep in mind that the hotline contact between the Director General Military Operations (DGMO) of Pakistan and the Indian Army can be used for immediate information exchange in an unusual situation.

 

After this incident, there was a debate on social media whether it is related to the elections in India. In some statements, this incident is also being projected as 'Modi's conspiracy.

 

But the assembly elections of five states in India were over on 7 March and by 10 March the results were also out.

 

Talking to BBC, Sushant Singh said that the election has nothing to do with this matter. He believes that "it may have been told to Pakistan from the back door or informally. But even if it has happened, then the Indian Defense Ministry should be told clearly."

 

What is the process of sharing information about missiles between Pakistan and India?

 

In the last 17 years, there have been six major disputes between India and Pakistan, which have been resolved through dialogue and international intervention. In the wake of these incidents, experts in both countries are looking at the missive launch statement with concern, while questions are also being raised about the sharing of nuclear and weapons agreements between the two countries.

 

A defense memorandum was signed between India and Pakistan on February 21, 1999. In this MoU, it was decided that both the countries would inform each other before testing any type of ballistic missile. The two countries will notify each other three days before the launch of land or sea ballistic missiles and the responsibility of reporting will be on the Foreign Office and High Commission of both countries.

 

In addition, several such agreements have been made under which Pakistan and India exchange the list of nuclear weapons sites on January 1 every year.

 

Both countries have also agreed that if armed fighter aircraft fly within 10 km of the border, then India and Pakistan will inform each other.

 

The third agreement is related to the nuclear accident, which states that if any accident occurs in either of the two countries, then both will inform each other.

 

Although many agreements have been signed between the two countries during the last 17 years, during this time there has been a rapid increase in the pace of arms purchase and stockpiling. As a result, many new weapons are not part of these agreements.

 

Syed Muhammad Ali, director of the Center for AeroSpace and Security Studies, told the BBC that while ballistic missiles had been formally signed, no agreement had yet been reached on new missiles such as cruise missiles.

 

In 2005, Pakistan also talked about negotiating an agreement with India regarding cruise missile tests, so that the two countries can inform each other in advance. But India did not support it.

 

On 11 August 2005, Pakistan tested the first cruise missile Babur, after which Pakistan also made a modern version of Babur. Then came the Air Launch Cruise Missile Rad. Similarly, India also made cruise missiles which include BrahMos.

 

There are also four variants of BrahMos, which include surface to surface, air to surface, sea surface to land, and below sea surface missiles.

 

Syed Mohammad Ali says that "it is more important at this time to care for and protect it than to store weapons."

 

He said that there is a need to sign a cruise missile agreement at this time so that such accidents can be avoided.

 

He also disagrees with India's statement that the missile was launched "accidentally".

 

Ali says, "It is not an accident like a missile hitting a cloth. Rather it raises many questions."

 

He said that it is not only related to the fact that the button was pressed while cleaning and the missile went off, "It is not only related to technical things. It is also related to the command and control system. In whose control are these missiles, Was any action taken against the officer or his team in whose control these missiles were? Who permits to launch the missiles? The answer is important as this is a very sensitive issue."

 

Mohammad Ali said that if India's missile systems and nuclear program are seen, then it seems that this system is not being operated safely.

 

There should be an investigation into this incident and India's nuclear and missile operations system at the international level too so that the questions being raised can be answered.

 

It is worth noting that such incidents have happened in India in the past, after which questions were raised about the defense capabilities.

 

Indian submarine (Submarine) Arihant was reported in the Indian newspaper The Hindu in the year 2018 that due to accidentally opening the hatch, seawater had entered the nuclear system-powered submarine. The specialty of this submarine, worth about three billion dollars, was that it could be used as a surprise attack.

 

Following the attack by the Indian Air Force in Pakistan's Balakot after the Pulwama attack, when the Pakistan Air Force retaliated the next day, the Indian Air Force shot down one of its helicopters, killing all six people on board. They went.