Could have responded but…: PM Imran Khan on India’s 'accidental' missile firing into Pakistan

An unarmed Indian supersonic missile had entered Pakistani territory on March 9 evening, which India said was "fired accidentally".

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New Delhi: Days after India’s "accidental firing" of a missile that landed in Pakistan's Punjab province, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday (March 13) that his country could have responded to New Delhi but it observed restraint.

Reacting to the incident for the first time, Pakistan PM said, "We could have responded after an Indian missile fell in Mian Channu but we observed restraint."

As per PTI, Khan made the remarks while addressing a public rally in Punjab's Hafizabad district on Sunday afternoon. Talking about his country's defence, he said that "we have to make our defence and country strong."

An unarmed Indian supersonic missile had entered Pakistani territory on Wednesday (March 9) evening, endangering several airliners during its flight before hitting a private property (cold storage) near Mian Channu, some 275-km from Lahore. There was no casualty reported. 

India had claimed that the missile was "fired accidentally" during a routine maintenance operation because of a technical malfunction, adding that a ‘high-level court of enquiry' had been ordered into the incident. 

Earlier on Saturday, Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said it was not satisfied with India's "simplistic explanation" on the "accidental firing" and demanded a joint probe to ascertain the facts. 

"Pakistan has proposed to New Delhi a joint probe into the incident to establish facts since the missile had landed into Pakistani territory," Pakistan's FO said. Further, it questioned why India did not inform Pakistan immediately about the ‘accidental launch' of the missile. 

"Indian decision to hold an internal court of inquiry is not sufficient since the missile ended up in Pakistani territory. Pakistan demands a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident,” the FO added. 

(With PTI inputs)