Washington: The United States has said there is no indication that the recent firing of a missile from India which landed in Pakistan was anything other than accidental.
India on Friday said it accidentally fired a missile two days back that landed in Pakistan and that the “deeply regrettable” incident was caused by a technical malfunction in the course of its routine maintenance.
“We have no indication as you also heard from our Indian partners that this incident was anything other than an accident,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference on Monday.
This comes following Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi stating India’s explanation of the “accidental firing” of a missile was a “serious matter” that could not be addressed with a “simplistic explanation” offered by New Delhi and once again pressed for a joint probe.
The Foreign Minister said such a “serious matter” could not be addressed with the “simplistic explanation” proffered by the Indian authorities, the Foreign Office said.
He said Pakistan had called for a joint probe and was calling upon the international community to take serious notice of this incident of grave nature in a nuclearised environment and play its due role in upholding and promoting strategic stability in the region.
India’s defence ministry said that the government has taken a serious view of the incident and ordered a ‘Court of Enquiry’ into it, a day after Pakistan said a high-speed projectile launched from India entered its airspace and fell near Mian Channu in Khanewal district of the Punjab province.
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