The Foreign Office on Thursday summoned the Indian charge d’affaires and conveyed Pakistan’s “strong protest” over the unprovoked violation of its airspace by an Indian origin ‘super-sonic flying object’ which entered into Pakistan from ‘Suratgarh’ India.
Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar on Thursday said that the projectile that entered Pakistani airspace was a supersonic missile that originated from India and fell near Mian Channu, causing some damage to the surrounding areas.
“The Indian diplomat was conveyed that the imprudent launch of the flying object not only caused damage to civilian property but also put at risk human lives on the ground. Besides, the flight path of the flying object endangered several domestic/international flights within Pakistani airspace and could have resulted in a serious aviation accident as well as civilian casualties,” read a statement issued on Thursday.
The FO told the Indian envoy to convey to the Government of India Pakistan’s “strong condemnation” of such violation of Pakistani airspace in contravention of the established international norms and aviation safety protocols. “Such irresponsible incidents were also reflective of India’s disregard for air safety and callousness towards regional peace and stability,” it read.
It called for a transparent investigation of the incident, the outcome of which must be shared with Pakistan. Moreover, the statement added that the Indian government was cautioned to be mindful of the “unpleasant consequences” of such negligence and take effective measures to avoid the recurrence of such violations in the future.