Pakistan on Thursday alleged that on 9th March a high-speed projectile, which was launched from India, entered its airspace after travelling 124 km and crashed near Mian Channu in Khanewal district in the Punjab province.
Pakistan further claimed that the projectile damaged some civilian property in the vicinity of it’s crash spot but there was no loss of human lives.
“At 6.43 p.m., a high-speed flying object was picked up inside the Indian territory by the Air Defence Operation Centre of the Pakistan Air Force [PAF]. From its initial course, the object suddenly manoeuvred towards the Pakistani territory and violated Pakistan’s airspace ultimately falling near Mian Channu at 6.50 p.m… When it fell, it also damaged some civilian property. Thankfully no loss or injury to human life was caused,” Major General Babar Iftikhar, Director-General of the Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan, claimed.
On the basis of the recovered debris, Pakistan Army claimed that the projectile was a supersonic surface-to-surface missile but it was “unarmed”.
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DG ISPR further said that the Pakistan Air Force closely monitored the path followed by the projectile up until its crashing which, as per its claim, originated from Sirsa in Haryana, India.
It seemed to be heading towards Mahajan field firing range but turned it’s direction towards Pakistan after 70-80km, Air Vice Marshal Tariq Zia claimed.
“The total time from pick up till its impact on the ground was 6 minutes and 46 seconds. However, the time it stayed in the Pakistani territory was for 3 minutes and 44 seconds,” Air Vice Marshal Tariq Zia further claimed.
AVM Tariq Zia further claimed that the object was intercepted at an altitude of 40000 feet.
It was travelling at over Mach 2.5 speed as per initial study. The speed was later determined to be Mach3, he claimed.
The Pakistan Air Force has begun the requisite tactical actions as per the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) given that the projectile had the potential to endanger numerous commercial flights across the airspaces (given they fly at 35000-42000 feet and the projectile was flying at 40000 feet) as well as lives on ground in both the countries.
This launch showed utter disregard for aviation safety by the Indians. It also "reflects poorly" on the critical technology and "procedural efficiency" by the Indian side, DG ISPR alleged.
DG ISPR said that the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of both the countries are yet to hold a conversation about it.
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The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs will contact Indian counterparts for “requisite information”, the DG ISPR further said.
The claims come at a time when the Pakistan PM Imran Khan is facing massive criticism from the public as well the opposition parties.
The Pakistan opposition earlier this week submitted a no-confidence motion against the Imran-Khan government for its mismanagement of the country’s economy.
PM Imran Khan’s party, PTI, is planning to host a massive rally in Islamabad to shore up support for his government.
Islamabad police on Thursday stormed into Parliament lodge and arrested the Members of National Assembly (MNA) belonging to the opposition party JUI-F.
JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman is the chief of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance. This incident comes days before the no-confidence motion test for the Imran Khan government.
