India’s BrahMos missile had fallen in Pakistan, 3 Air Force officers got jobs

The matter of India’s missile falling across the border of Pakistan remains in the discussion. On Tuesday, three IAF officers were sacked who were held responsible in a high-level probe into the accidental firing of BrahMos missiles on March 9. That missile fell in Pakistan. The Court of Inquiry investigating the incident found that 3 officers did not follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Following that incident, the Defense Ministry expressed “deep regret” while Pakistan lodged a strong protest.

An official statement said, “A BrahMos missile was accidentally fired on March 9. The Court of Inquiry (Col) set up to establish the facts of the case, including fixing the responsibility for the incident, found that the standard operating procedure was not followed by the three officers. His services have been terminated by the Central Government with immediate effect. The officers have been ordered to be dismissed on August 23.”

IAF did not mention the names and ranks of the sacked officers
The IAF, however, did not mention the ranks and names of the officers who have been sacked. But it is understood that one of the sacked officers is a Group Captain. The Defense Ministry had said on March 11 that a technical fault had caused a missile to accidentally go off during routine maintenance and landed in an area in Pakistan. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament on March 15 that the government has taken the incident very seriously and a high-level inquiry has been ordered.

Pakistan was not happy with India’s reply
Following the incident, Pakistan had lodged a protest against the Indian Embassy in-charge in Islamabad for alleged violation of its airspace by a “flying Indian super-sonic object”. The Pakistani military had said that an object from a distance of 124 km had entered Pakistan’s airspace from the Indian side. Pakistan had said on the incident that it was not satisfied with India’s “simplified explanation” on the “accidental firing” of the missile that fell in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Pakistan had demanded a joint inquiry to ascertain the correct facts related to the incident. The Pakistani Foreign Office had said that the incident raises several fundamental questions with respect to security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorized missile launches in a nuclear environment.