India on Friday said it had accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan because of a “technical malfunction” and termed the incident “deeply regrettable”.

Pakistan had warned the incident could have “unpleasant consequences”.

The Indian defence ministry said: “On March 9 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile. The Government of India has taken a serious view and ordered a high-level court of enquiry.

“It is learnt that the missile landed in an area of Pakistan. While the incident is deeply regrettable, it is also a matter of relief that there has been no loss of life due to the incident.”

Former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash tweeted that a weapon would never be launched accidentally in a sound command and control system.

“Let us note that a fundamental attribute of a sound Command & Control system is: “Never/Always.” A weapon will NEVER be launched accidentally, and ALWAYS when duly authorised. Especially relevant in context of short flight times,” Admiral Arun Prakash tweeted.

Sushant Singh, another veteran, tweeted: “Nuclear weapon states don’t fire a missile into an adversary’s territory, accidentally or otherwise. Period.”

Earlier, Pakistan’s foreign office said it had summoned India’s chargé d’affaires in Islamabad to lodge a protest.

Pakistan called it an unprovoked violation of its airspace and sought an investigation into the incident, which it said could have endangered passenger flights and civilian lives.

India should “be mindful of the unpleasant consequences of such negligence and take effective measures to avoid the recurrence of such violations in future”, Pakistan added.

Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar had on Thursday said that a “high-speed flying object” had crashed near the eastern Pakistani city of Mian Channu and that it had originated from Sirsa in Haryana.

“The flight path of this object endangered many national and international passenger flights both in Indian and Pakistani airspace as well as human life and property (on the) ground,” he said.

Iftikhar called on India to share the outcome of its investigation into the incident.

A Pakistan air force official said the object travelled at an altitude of 40,000 feet, at Mach 3, and flew 124km in Pakistani airspace before crashing.

According to an agreement between India and Pakistan, each country has to notify the other at least three days ahead of any flight-testing of ballistic missiles.

Military experts have in the past warned of the risk of accidents or miscalculations by the two neighbouring countries.

Additional reporting from Reuters