Pakistan’s military said on Thursday that an Indian “unloaded supersonic missile” had fallen into its territory. The missiles damaged the property of local residents, but did not cause any casualties.
“Pakistan protests this blatant violation and warns against repeating this in the future,” military spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar told reporters in Rawalpindi.
“Whatever the cause of this incident, the Indian side must explain,” he demanded, and he said India’s “provocative” action took place Wednesday night. There has been no response from India regarding the incident.
Iftikhar said Pakistan’s air defense system picked up the air-to-air rocket signal immediately after it was launched from Sirsa, India, which is about 104 kilometers from the border area of the two countries, and “continues to track” its complete flight path.
“From the start of the launch, the object suddenly maneuvered towards Pakistani territory and violated Pakistani airspace, and fell near the town of Mian Channu,” said Iftikhar.
The missile flew at an altitude of 12 kilometers and was in Pakistani airspace for about 204 seconds, before finally dropping 124 kilometers inside Pakistani territory, in the province of Punjab, east Pakistan.
“And when they fall, these missiles damage people’s property. Luckily there were no fatalities or injuries,” Iftikhar added, noting that no important military installations were in the area.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned India’s Chargé d’Affaires in Islamabad to lodge a formal protest over the violation of Pakistan’s airspace. [jm/em]