The Foreign Office said Friday morning that Pakistan has strongly denounced the “unprovoked” violation of its airspace by a “supersonic flying item of Indian origin.”
According to Major General Babar Iftikhar, Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an Indian projectile entered Pakistani airspace on March 9 and crashed near Mian Channu in Khanewal district within minutes, causing some damage to the adjacent villages.
“The Government of India is reminded to be cognizant of the unfavorable repercussions of such indifference and to take effective measures to prevent such violations,” the FO stated in a statement.
Pakistan summoned India’s Charge d’Affaires (Cd’A) to the Foreign Office to express its displeasure with the “blatant” violation of airspace.
“[…] An Indian origin supersonic flying item entered Pakistani airspace from Surathgarh, India, at 6:43 pm (Pakistan Standard Time) on March 9, 2022, and landed on the ground near Mian Channu, Pakistan, at around 6:50 pm on the same day, causing damage to [Pakistani] civilian property,” the FO claimed.
The Indian diplomat was informed that the rash launch of the projectile not only damaged civilian property but also endangered human lives on the ground and put several domestic and international flights operating within Pakistani airspace in jeopardy, potentially resulting in a serious aviation accident or civilian casualties.
“The Indian Cd’A was instructed to transmit Pakistan’s strong disapproval of this flagrant violation of Pakistani airspace in violation of established international conventions and aviation safety regulations to the Indian government. Such irresponsible occurrences revealed India’s contempt for air safety as well as its callous attitude toward regional peace and stability ” the statement said.
Pakistan has also demanded a full and transparent inquiry into the event, the results of which must be shared with Pakistan, according to the statement.
Pakistani airspace is breached by an Indian missile
DP ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar, speaking at a press conference in Rawalpindi, said Pakistan strongly denounced the event and demanded an explanation from India.
“A high-speed flying object was spotted up within Indian territory by the Air Defence Operation Centre of the Pakistan Airforce at 6:43 pm [on Thursday],” he had stated.
“From its initial route, the object abruptly diverged towards Pakistani territory, violating Pakistani airspace [before] crashing near Mian Channu at 6:50 p.m.”
He said that the projectile caused damage to some civilian property when it dropped.
“Thankfully, no human life was lost or injured,” he stated, adding that the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has been monitoring the flying object’s whole flight path from its point of origin near Sirsa, India, till its site of impact near Mian Channu.
He went on to say that the PAF took the necessary tactical actions in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) and that the object’s flight path threatened many international and domestic passenger flights, as well as human life and property on the ground, in both Indian and Pakistani airspace.
“It’s up to the Indians to explain what precipitated this occurrence,” he said. “However, it demonstrates their contempt for aircraft safety and speaks volumes about their technological prowess and procedural efficiency.”
The incident may have resulted in a huge aircraft tragedy as well as human casualties on the ground, according to Maj Gen Iftikhar.
He had added that an investigation had been begun and those forensics were being conducted, but that the supersonic flying item was “most likely a missile,” but that it was “definitely unarmed.”
