ISLAMABAD: Top Pakistan army commanders on Tuesday reviewed with concern the Indian missile misfire into Pakistan and maintained it could have resulted in a “major disaster” and endangered “regional peace and strategic stability,” the Pakistani military said.
Pakistan’s military last Thursday said an unarmed surface-to-surface missile launched from neighboring India violated Pakistan’s airspace and ended up in eastern Punjab province on Wednesday, damaging a wall in a residential area but causing no casualties.
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa directed that comprehensive security measures be ensured for the peaceful conduct of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting and the Pakistan Day parade.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa made this direction while chairing the 248th Corps Commanders’ Conference at General Headquarters. The OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting is scheduled to be held in Islamabad on March 22-23 while the Pakistan Day parade is set to take place on March 23.
According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the forum was given a comprehensive briefing on important global and regional developments, the internal security situation in the country, and progress on the western border management regime.
Major General Babar Iftikhar, the head of the military’s media wing, demanded an explanation from India over the “flagrant violation,” while the foreign office summoned the Indian charge d’affaires in Islamabad the same day to convey Pakistan’s ‘strong protest.’
On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa presided over a corps commanders’ conference to review key global and regional developments, internal security situation and progress on the Western Border Management Regime.
“The forum reviewed with concern, the recent incident of missile firing, claimed as accidental by India, which could have resulted in a major disaster,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing, said in a statement.
“It was emphasized that despite Indian acknowledgment of the mistake, relevant international forums must take a serious view of the incident and subject the safety and security protocols of Indian strategic assets to deliberate oversight.”
Such dangerous incidents could act as a “trigger and seriously endanger regional peace and strategic stability,” the ISPR added.
Islamabad also rejected a statement by India’s defense minister on the missile ‘accidentally’ fired from India into Pakistan last week, Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday.
India said on Tuesday it was conducting a review of its procedures for operations, maintenance and inspection of weapons systems following the accidental firing.
“We attach the highest priority to the safety and security of our weapon systems. If any shortcoming is found, it would be immediately rectified,” Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament. “While this incident is regretted, we are relieved that nobody was hurt due to the accident.”
Pakistan’s Qureshi told journalists the Indian statement was “incomplete” and he had written to the UN Security Council on the matter and asked the international community to take the matter up.
Last Friday, New Delhi responded that in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of the missile, saying it was relieved there was no loss of life due to the accident.
During a briefing on Monday, Ned Price, the US state department spokesperson, said the Americans had “no indication” that a missile fired from India into Pakistan last week was anything but an accident.
“We have no indication, as you also heard from our Indian partners, that this incident was anything other than an accident,” Price told reporters on Monday.
“We refer you, of course, to the Indian Ministry of Defense for any follow-up. They issued a statement on March 9th to explain precisely what had happened. We don’t have a comment beyond that.”
Hostile propaganda must be countered
through unified response: Gen Bajwa
Meanwhile, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has emphasised that misinformation and propaganda by inimical forces threaten the national cohesion which must be identified and countered collectively through a unified response, a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Tuesday.
According to the military’s media wing, the army chief made the remarks while interacting with students during his visit to Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
Gen Bajwa said, “Pakistan is blessed with dynamic and talented youth. Human resource development, innovation and technological advancements are vital for progress.”
The COAS appreciated the role and contributions of LUMS in preparing future leadership of Pakistan.
Upon arrival at the university, the army chief was received by LUMS Vice-Chancellor Dr Arshad Ahmad Malik and faculty members.
Earlier in the day, the COAS attended an induction ceremony of SH-15 artillery guns in the Corps of Artillery, said ISPR.
The army chief expressed satisfaction on induction of this state-of-the-art weapon system to meet future battlefield challenges.“Induction of these most modern guns with increased range, battlefield mobility and accuracy would assuredly enhance operational preparedness of Pakistan Army,” remarked the COAS.