Opinion | Two steps India and Pakistan can take after accidental missile launch
- While the restraint of the Pakistani military following the incident is admirable, the two nuclear-armed neighbours can do more to strengthen confidence-building measures
Two days later, Indian authorities expressed regret over the incident and attributed the inadvertent launch to a technical error. The Pakistani military said it was aware of the trajectory of the missile once it entered Pakistani territory. Not surprisingly, they also expressed considerable concern about this intrusion.
It is certainly reassuring that the launch of this missile into Pakistani territory did not lead to a response from its military. The fulminations of Pakistani National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf notwithstanding, the restraint of the Pakistani military was admirable. Had Pakistan either moved its forces closer to the border or resorted to other military manoeuvres, it could have easily escalated the situation.
In the Indo-Pakistani context, such fears are hardly chimerical. The two countries have fought four wars (in 1947-48, 1965, 1971 and 1999). In 1987, a major Indian military exercise, “Brasstacks”, almost culminated in a war between the two states.