Pakistan had retaliatory strike plan after India’s accidental missile firing

New Delhi, which gave a delayed response, said the March 9 mishap occurred due to human and technical errors during a routine exercise to check missile systems

Pakistan had prepared to launch a similar missile to hit India but held back because an initial assessment indicated something was amiss

3-MIN READ3-MIN

A Pakistani nuclear missile on display during a military parade in Islamabad. File photo: AP

Published: 3:09pm, 16 Mar 2022Updated: 2:49am, 17 Mar 2022

An accidental missile fired by India last week prompted Pakistan to prepare a retaliatory strike, people familiar with the matter said, showing how close the nuclear-armed neighbours came to blows over a potentially disastrous mistake.

Pakistan had prepared to launch a similar missile to strike India but held back because an initial assessment indicated something was amiss, people familiar with the matter said. The Indian missile ended up damaging some residential property but caused no casualties.

The Indian Air Force fired the BrahMos medium-range cruise missile on March 9 from the garrison town of Ambala, about 200km (140 miles) north of the capital New Delhi, according to people familiar with the matter in India.

Security forces inspect the remains of a missile fired from India, near Mian Channu, Pakistan. Photo: Reuters

The mishap occurred due to human and technical errors during a routine exercise to check systems capable of taking offensive action in war, the people said.

Still, after the launch India didn’t use the direct hotline between the top army commanders on both sides to tell Pakistan, the people said, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the information.

Instead, Air Force officials moved to shut down the missile systems to avoid any further launches, they said.

Pakistan held a briefing to publicise the incident a day later after failing to hear an explanation from India, the people said. India finally offered a response last Friday following the Pakistani protest over the launch.