In the roller coaster history of India-Pakistan relations, an unarmed Indian missile, possibly a surface to surface Brahmos missile, inadvertently crossing into Pakistani territory and landing in Mian Channu in the Pakistani Punjab, on March 9, is a first.
Most of the information that the missile was apparently fired from an IAF base in Sirsa in Haryana and did not cause any injuries on impact has come from the Pakistani side. Its military also accused India of endangering civilian flights on account of the altitude of the missile’s flight path, which was said to be about 40,000 feet.
On its part, India has said that a technical malfunction during routine maintenance led to the accidental firing of the missile. New Delhi has also ordered an inquiry and described the incident as “deeply regrettable”. Pakistan has demanded a joint probe with India into the episode.
Guest: Sheel Kant Sharma, a former Joint Secretary in India’s External Affairs Ministry, who has dealt with issues of disarmament, bilateral security dialogues and nuclear non-proliferation. Mr. Sharma is a Ph.D. in Physics from IIT Mumbai, and a former Secretary-General of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Host: Amit Baruah, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu
Edited by Ranjani Srinivasan
