Pak rejects India's response to missile firing, demands joint investigation

Pakistan has rejected India's action over the March 9 accidental firing of a supersonic missile that landed in its territory and demanded a joint probe.

The services of three officers of the Indian Air Force were terminated on August 23 after a Court of Inquiry (CoI) found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by them led to the accidental firing of the missile.

The Foreign Office in a late Wednesday night statement said Pakistan has seen India's announcement of the findings of an internal CoI regarding the "incident of firing of a rogue supersonic missile" into its territory and the decision to terminate the services of three IAF officers reportedly found responsible for the reckless incident.

"Pakistan categorically rejects India's purported closure of the highly irresponsible incident and reiterates its demand for a joint probe," it said.

"As expected, the measures taken by India in the aftermath of the incident and the subsequent findings and punishments handed by the so-called internal Court of Inquiry are totally unsatisfactory, deficient and inadequate."

It alleged that India has not only failed to respond to Pakistan's demand for a joint inquiry but has also evaded the questions raised by Pakistan regarding the command and control system in place in India, the safety and security protocols and the "reason for India's delayed admission of the missile launch".

It said systemic loopholes and technical lapses of serious nature in handling of strategic weapons "cannot be covered up beneath the veneer of individual human error".

"If indeed India has nothing to hide, it must accept Pakistan's demand for a joint probe in the spirit of transparency," it demanded.

It further said the "imprudent Indian action" of March 9 had "jeopardized" the peace and security environment of the entire region while "Pakistan showed exemplary restraint" which was a testament of its systemic maturity and abiding commitment to peace as a responsible nuclear state.

Pakistan reiterated its demand that the Indian government must immediately provide specific responses to the queries raised by Islamabad after the incident and accedes to its call for a joint probe.