Pakistan, aksidenteng nabomba ng missile ng India — Ministry of Defence

ni Lolet Abania | March 12, 2022

Ipinahayag ng gobyerno ng India na aksidente umano silang nakapagpalabas ng missile sa Pakistan nitong linggo dahil sa tinatawag na “technical malfunction” sa ginagawa nilang routine maintenance, kung saan nagbigay na sila ng kanilang bersyon sa nangyaring insidente, matapos na ipatawag ng Pakistan government ang kinatawan ng India bilang protesta.

Una nang nagbabala ang mga military experts hinggil sa panganib ng aksidente o miscalculations ng mga nuclear-armed neighbors, kung saan nakipaglaban na sa tatlong giyera at nagkaroon ng maraming armed conflict o maliliit na sagupaan, na karaniwan ay patungkol sa disputed territory ng Kashmir.

“On 9 March 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile,” ayon sa Indian Ministry of Defence sa isang three-paragraph 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,” dagdag na pahayag nito. Batay sa ministry, “the government had taken a serious view and ordered a high-level Court of Enquiry.”

Ayon sa mga Pakistani officials, “the missile was unarmed and had crashed near the country’s eastern city of Mian Channu, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the capital, Islamabad.”

Agad na ipinatawag ng foreign office ng Pakistan ang charge d’affaires in Islamabad ng India para maghain ng protesta hinggil sa tinatawag na isang unprovoked violation of its airspace, na anila ang insidente ay maaaring magdulot ng panganib sa mga passenger flights at buhay ng mga sibilyan.

Nagbabala naman ang Pakistan sa India na anila, “to be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence and take effective measures to avoid the recurrence of such violations in future.”

Sa tweet ni Ayesha Siddiqa, isang eksperto sa military affairs at may kinalaman sa South Asia, “India-Pak should be talking about risk mitigation.” “Both states have remained confident about control of nuclear weapons but what if such accidents happen again & with more serious consequences?” saad pa nito.