According to Pakistani military officials on March 10, the missile flew for 3 minutes and 46 seconds within Pakistani airspace…reports Asian Lite News
The Indian Air Force on Tuesday sacked three personnel for the firing of a BrahMos missile into Pakistani territory.
The IAF in a statement said, “BrahMos missile was accidentally fired on 09 March 2022. A Court of Inquiry (CoI), set up to establish the facts of the case, including fixing responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) by three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile.”
“These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the Central Govt with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on 23 Aug 22,” the statement added.
The incident was reported on March 9 this year. It was said that during “routine maintenance and inspection,” a BrahMos missile was accidentally launched into the territory of Pakistan in the vicinity of Mian Channu town, travelling more than 120 kms west of the India-Pakistan border.
According to Pakistani military officials on March 10, the missile flew for 3 minutes and 46 seconds within Pakistani airspace.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the backchannel talks between Pakistan and India met a dead end as both sides have struggled to agree on the moves that may pave the way for slow but gradual improvement in the relationship.
“Talks have been going on but have reached a point where things aren’t moving anywhere,” The Express Tribune report quoted a source as saying.
There has been a desire from both sides to break the impasse but the issue is how to move forward from this point onwards, the source explained.
What has slowed down the process was the political uncertainty in Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported.
There was a glimmer of hope for a possible thaw in the relationship following the change of government in Pakistan in April.
What spurred the optimism was that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first leaders to congratulate his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif when the latter assumed office in April.
The source said backchannel contacts that began during the PTI government’s tenure picked up pace in April after the change of government.
But despite “intense” backchannel diplomacy, the two sides were not willing to concede an inch on their respective issues.
Pakistan is keen that India must take steps with regards to Kashmir before any process of normalisation of ties begins. New Delhi, however, is more interested in Islamabad first exploring the option of resuming bilateral trade, The Express Tribune quoted the source as saying further.
The friction in the relationship prevented Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers from interacting with each other at the recent meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tashkent.
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