India's accidental missile had Pakistan prepare retaliatory strike: Report

Sensing something was amiss after initial assessments, Pakistan held back, Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources as saying.

The missile that was “inadvertently launched” by India last week had Pakistan preparing a retaliatory strike, a Bloomberg report said. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday had explained in parliament how the missile, accidentally fired on March 9, landed in Pakistan.

According to the Bloomberg report, the incident shows how a potentially disastrous mistake drove the two nuclear-armed countries to the brink of a war. Sensing something was amiss after initial assessments, Pakistan held back, Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources as saying.

The Indian Air Force’s missile did not result in any casualties. The defense ministry, in a press release two days after the incident, had pinned the misfire on “a technical malfunction in the course of a routine maintenance”.

According to the Bloomberg report, no direct hotline was set up between the top commanders of the two armies to inform Pakistan about the accidental launch. Instead, the missile systems were immediately shut down to avoid further launches.

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The flight path of the missile was tracked by Pakistan’s Air Force from Sirsa in Haryana to its landing spot in Mian Channu in Pakistan’s Punjab province, Pak military spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar said.

India, in the press release on March 11, said: "On March 9, in the course of a 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. 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.”