As the Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for 21 days now, the sight of—bombs exploding, tanks being destroyed and missiles being launched—has become common for the Ukrainians, and for the whole world via TV channels and social media. It’s a sight one can easily predict when two countries are at war with each other.
But, all this has been happening in Europe for now. However, one missile launch has happened here in Asia too… In times of peace. That too, from Indian soil into Pakistani territory. Yes, the two nuclear-armed countries and neighbours were involved with this.
A missile was launched on March 9, 2022, from Indian territory. It landed approximately 100 km inside Pakistani territory, in Mian Channu. If sources are to be believed, it was a BrahMos missile. The incident came to light when 24 hours later when the Pakistani military hosted a press conference to announce the same.
The Indian side accepted our mistake and issued a statement citing “technical malfunction during routine maintenance” as the cause for accidental launch of its missile.
Imagine a situation where this accidental missile (cruising at a high speed and altitude of about 40,000 feet) hits a civilian flight in Pakistani airspace. Had such a thing happened, the outcome could have been very different for all of us.
The patience and maturity shown by Pakistani military is commendable, as they responded with restraint and professionalism. Now, it is the responsibility of the Indian government to launch a fair probe and fix the accountability for such a huge blunder.
We need to do this not only to show the world that we are a responsible nuclear power, but also to put an end to the risk of any such potential mistakes being committed in the future.