India gives highest priority to safety of its weapon system: Rajnath Singh on accidental firing of missile

Giving a statement in Rajya Sabha, the Union Defence Minister said that India's missile system is highly safe and secure.

New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday (March 15, 2022) gave a statement on the accidental firing of a missile that landed in Pakistan and said that India gives the highest priority to the safety and security of its weapon system.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Singh said that India's missile system is highly safe and secure, and the country's defence establishment accords the highest priority to safety procedures and protocols.

"I would like to brief this august House about an incident that took place on 9th March, 2022. This incident relates to inadvertent release of a missile during inspection. During routine maintenance and inspection, a missile was accidentally released at around 7 p.m. It was later learnt that the missile had landed inside the territory of Pakistan. While this incident is regretted, we are relieved that nobody was hurt due to the accident," he said.

India's safety procedures and protocol are of the highest standards and its armed forces are well-trained and disciplined, he said.

I can assure the House that the missile system is very reliable & safe. Moreover, our safety procedures and protocols are of the highest order and are reviewed from time to time. Our Armed Forces are well-trained and disciplined & are well experienced in handling such systems:RM

— रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) March 15, 2022

Singh said the country's missile system is highly safe and secure. 

He also said the government is committed to rectify any shortcomings found in the weapon system after an enquiry into the incident.

My Statement in Rajya Sabha. pic.twitter.com/zKHypKgNLX — Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 15, 2022

Earlier on Friday, the Indian Defence Ministry had also said that it has ordered a court of enquiry into the incident adding that it was a matter of relief that there was no loss of life due to the accidental firing.

"On 9 March 2022, in the course of routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry," the Defence Ministry had said in a statement.

"It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan. While the incident is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the accident," it had said.

Meanwhile, China has said that India and Pakistan should hold dialogue as soon as possible and launch a "thorough" investigation into the recent 'accidental firing' of a missile incident. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, during a media briefing, said both Pakistan and India are important countries in South Asia and they share the responsibility to uphold regional security and stability.

"China calls on the countries to hold dialogue and communication as soon as possible, and look thoroughly into the incident, step up information sharing, and promptly establish a reporting mechanism so that such incidents will not happen again, and misunderstanding and misjudgement can be avoided," he said.

On Saturday, Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said it was not satisfied with India's "simplistic explanation" on the "accidental firing" of the missile and demanded a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident.

The FO summoned the Indian Charge d'Affaires and registered its protest over the "unprovoked" violation of its airspace and said that such "irresponsible incidents" reflected India's "disregard" for air safety.

Pakistan also called upon the international community to take serious notice of this incident of grave nature in a nuclearised environment and play its due role in promoting strategic stability in the region, the FO said.

Though the statement by India's defence ministry did not specify the name of the missile, the description given by the Pakistan military indicated that it could be a Brahmos missile.

(With agency inputs)