India accidentally fires missile into Pakistan

[Lyneham Lad]

How wars are accidentally started... Report on BBC News. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-60711653)

India says it accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan on Wednesday, blaming the incident on a "technical malfunction" during routine maintenance.

Delhi said it was "deeply regrettable" and expressed relief no one was killed.

Pakistan's military said a "high-speed flying object" had crashed near the eastern city of Mian Channu and its flight path had endangered passenger flights.

[Asturias56]

"Islamabad warned Delhi to "be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence" and to avoid a repeat. The object had been launched from Sirsa in Haryana state, it said. Pakistan's air force said the missile travelled at Mach 3 - three times the speed of sound - at an altitude of 12,000m (40,000ft) and flew 124km (77 miles) in Pakistani airspace before crashing.

The flight path of this object endangered many national and international passenger flights both in Indian and Pakistani airspace, as well as human life and property of ground," said Pakistani military spokesman Major-General Babar Iftikharon Thursday."

[Herod]

At least sanity has prevailed in the end. Could have been VERY nasty.

[Lonewolf_50]

Sorry they missed what they were shooting at. :p
(Yes, I am kidding ... uh, sort of)
"Islamabad warned Delhi to "be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence" and to avoid a repeat.
For the first time in about three decades I have appreciation for something said by the government of Pakistan.
Well played, chaps and chappesses.

[Buster Hyman]

Well, that's one way to get some life out of the Rawalpindi wicket!

[Colonel_Klink]

Well, that's one way to get some life out of the Rawalpindi wicket!

That comment almost left my iPad covered in beer.

But as a previous poster said, well done to the Pakistani’s for showing a tremendous amount of common sense!

[Asturias56]

I suspect they didn't notice until it left a smoking hole in the ground - then someone went back and checked the radar track....................

[Big Pistons Forever]

Personally I think if the likelihood of an exchange of nuclear missiles between Pakistan and India is getting to a scarily high level. The Pakistani missiles are effectively under control of the ISI, which is run by fanatics and the Indian government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and nationalistic. Considering who the two countries neighbors and the recent world developments are , an exchange of nuclear missiles has many obvious paths to escalation outside of the two countries borders....

[Asturias56]

TBH its not as bad as a decade ago when N warheads were under the control of frontline commanders. At one point the Indians were pretty sure the Pakistanis were going to launch a nuclear strike at short notice (and vice versa).

One of the un-sung, but critical , bits of "aid" was the US and the Russians leaning on both parties to institute a more stringent set of controls