Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday rejected as “incomplete and insufficient” the response by by India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh in parliament about the “accidental firing” of a missile, and once again demanded a joint probe into the incident.
Addressing a press conference here, Qureshi talked in detail about India’s accidental missile launch of March 9 as well as the 48th Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers being hosted by Pakistan on March 22-23.
“What Indian defence minister had said in the Lok Sabha is incomplete and insufficient. It is not enough to satisfy Pakistan. I reject that and demand a joint probe,” he said, reiterating Islamabad’s demand made last week.
“This was a highly irresponsible act and the answer given is equally irresponsible,” Qureshi said in the first Pakistani reaction to Singh’s detailed statement in Parliament.
Asserting that India’s missile system is very reliable and the safety procedures are of the highest order, Defence Minister Singh on Tuesday described the recent accidental missile release as “regrettable”. He said a review of standard operations and maintenance was being conducted and any shortcoming if found, will be immediately rectified.
Making a statement in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on the inadvertent release of a missile during an inspection on March 9, Singh said the government has taken serious note of the incident, and a formal high-level inquiry has been ordered which will determine the exact cause of the incident.