India's mistake in Mian Channu incident could have led to accidental war: FM Qureshi

Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke in response to India's missile that crashed in Mian Channu on March 9.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - In response to Indian confession of sending missile as a mistake in Mian Channu, Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said this act could have triggered an accidental war between the two countries.

Talking to a private TV channel, Shah Mehmood said that if India had a technical glitch then it is a big failure. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that it seems that India is demanding a cup of tea. If there is a technical glitch then it is a big failure.

He said that if the missile had landed in the city, there would have been a lot of evidence. India s attitude is irresponsible, now the West has to break its silence and take notice of the irresponsible move. It could have sparked an accidental war. We are telling the world to take this matter seriously.

The Federal Foreign Minister said that a few days ago Indian submarine entered Pakistani waters, Pakistan Navy pursued and fled, 21 countries have taken notice of the situation in occupied Kashmir. Pakistan needs an answer not just a statement on TV as it was not a minor incident.

INDIA ADMITS MISTAKE 

A day after DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar sought explanation from India over a flying object that crashed in Mian Channu on Wednesday, the Indian authorities have admitted that ‘a missile was accidentally fired’.

“On 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry,” the Indian Ministry of Defence said in a statement today (Friday).

“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 ministry added.

In a press conference on Thursday, Pakistan Army’s spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar had said an Indian supersonic missile violated country’s air space, endangering civil flights before crashing 124 km from the international borders near Mian Chunnu, damaging civilian property, but no lives were lost.

The DG ISPR said a high-speed flying object was detected inside the Indian territory by the PAF Air Defence Operation System. The object was picked up at 18:43 hours which after remaining airborne, suddenly manoeuvred from its initial course and intruded into the Pakistan territory.

He described it as "a supersonic flying object, most probably a missile, but it was certainly unarmed.”

Initial reports Wednesday suggested that some small aircraft had crashed in the area.

He said the Pakistan Air Force continuously monitored the complete flying path of the object, from its point of origin near Sirsa in India to its point of impact, near Mian Channu and ‘initiated requisite tactical actions.’