New Delhi: The government today terminated the services of 3 Indian Air Force (IAF) officers in connection with the accidental firing of a BrahMos missile on March 9 this year, which had landed in Pakistan, giving Islamabad a handle to question safeguards related to India’s missile systems.
The missile had landed in Pakistan’s eastern city of Mian Channu in Punjab Province, around 125 kms from the border, but did not cause any damage.
Pakistan had created a hue and cry over it, saying, “The grave nature of the incident raises several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorized launch of missiles in a nuclearized environment.”
It had demanded a joint probe, which was rejected by a regretful India with an assertion that its missile system is “very reliable and safe” and that the safety procedures and protocols are of the highest order.
The Indian government had ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI), which has held 3 IAF officers responsible for the “accidental” firing of the missile.
“The Court of Inquiry (Col) constituted 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,” said an official statement issued by the IAF.
The officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident, it said.
The termination orders have been served upon the officers today.
Soon after the missile landed in Pakistan, the Indian Defence Ministry had said in a statement the incident was “deeply regrettable” and that a high-level Court of Inquiry had been ordered into it.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry had expressed dissatisfaction over Indian government’s explanation and raised a number of questions and apprehensions.
“Such a serious matter cannot be addressed with the simplistic explanation proffered by the Indian authorities,” it said in a statement.
“Indian decision to hold an internal Court of Inquiry is not sufficient since the missile ended up in Pakistani territory,” it said, adding Pakistan demands a joint probe to “accurately establish the facts” surrounding the incident.
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On March 15, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a statement in Parliament, maintaining that it was an “inadvertent release of a missile during inspection” and the government had taken serious note of the incident.
