India fires three officers over missile fiasco

The government in New Delhi has sacked three Indian Air Force (IAF) officers for violating standard operating procedures (SOPs) that led to the firing of a missile into Pakistan in March.

In an official statement on Tuesday, India formally concluded the inquiry into the “accidental firing” of the Brahmos missile and found three officials guilty of not following the laid down SoPs.

“A Brahmos missile was accidentally fired on 9 March 2022. A court of inquiry (COI), set up to establish the fact of the case, including fixing responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from the standard operating procedures by three officers led to the accidental firing of the missile,” read the Indian defence ministry statement.

Read: India admits to ‘accidentally’ firing missile into Pakistan

“These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the central government with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on 23 August, 2022,” the statement added.

India had confirmed accidentally firing a missile into Pakistan on March 9, something Islamabad said could have triggered a major disaster and potential war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

India while admitting the accidental firing of the missile rejected the joint probe demand and instead ordered a court of inquiry.

Also read: Pakistan seeks joint probe into Indian missile fiasco

There is no immediate reaction from Pakistan to the sacking of Indian officers. It is not clear either whether India first shared the findings of the court of inquiry with Pakistan.

Pakistan was praised for its mature handling of the missile fiasco as chief military spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar in his press conference soon after the incident avoided escalating the matter and instead offered India an opportunity to come clean over the issue.

Apart from seeking a joint probe, Pakistan had sought answers from India on specific questions.

Islamabad also wrote a letter to the UN Security Council urging the world body to demand from the government of India to (a) hold a joint investigation into the missile incident along with Pakistan to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident; (b) desist from any further actions that would jeopardise regional peace and security; and (c) take measures to provide reassurances to Pakistan and the world community about the security and safety of India’s weapons systems and the credibility of its command and control systems.