Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi speaks during a press conference over the ongoing situation in Afghanistan, at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on Aug 9, 2021. (AAMIR QURESHI / AFP)
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said on Tuesday Islamabad rejected a statement by India's defense minister on the accidental missile launch.
Qureshi told journalists the Indian statement was "incomplete" and said he had written to the UN Security Council on the matter and asked the international community to take the matter up.
India has started a high-level inquiry into the accident, which did not lead to any injuries or deaths, said Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh
Earlier on Tuesday, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the country is conducting a review of its procedures for operations, maintenance and inspection of weapons systems after accidentally launching a missile into Pakistan last week.
"We attach the highest priority to the safety and security of our weapon systems. If any shortcoming is found, it would be immediately rectified," Rajnath Singh told parliament.
India accidentally released a missile, which landed in Pakistan, about 7 pm last Wednesday during routine maintenance and inspection, he said.
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Pakistan has asked for a joint probe into the incident, demanding clarifications from New Delhi over its safety mechanism to prevent accidental missile launches.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh (left) gestures as Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh looks on during the commissioning ceremony of the INS Visakhapatnam, the stealth guided-missile destroyer ships of Project 15B, at the naval base in Mumbai on Nov 21, 2021. (PUNIT PARANJPE / AFP)
Although tensions between two countries have calmed in recent months, military experts have previously warned of the risk of accidents or miscalculations by the nuclear-armed arch rivals, which have fought three wars.
India has started a high-level inquiry into the accident, which did not lead to any injuries or deaths, Singh said.
"I can assure the House that the missile system is very reliable and safe," he said, without specifying which missile had been accidentally launched.
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"Moreover, our safety procedures and protocols are of the highest order and are reviewed from time to time," Singh said.