Islamabad has sought a joint India-Pakistan probe into Wednesday’s “accidental” firing of an Indian missile into Pakistan, and asked New Delhi to explain “if the missile was indeed handled by its armed forces or some rogue elements”.

Pakistan’s foreign office on Saturday said that India’s decision to hold an internal court of inquiry was “not sufficient” and sought to raise “several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against the accidental or unauthorised launch of missiles in a nuclearised environment”.

“Given the profound level of incompetence, India needs to explain if the missile was indeed handled by its armed forces or some rogue elements,” it said.

The foreign office said the “whole incident indicates many loopholes and technical lapses of serious nature in Indian handling of strategic weapons”.

“Indian decision to hold an internal court of inquiry is not sufficient since the missile ended up in Pakistani territory. Pakistan demands a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident,” it said.

India had on Friday 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.”

Several Indian military veterans expressed shock, with former navy chief and 1971 war hero Admiral Arun Prakash asserting that a sound command and control system would not allow a weapon to be launched accidentally.

Pakistan’s foreign office said it had taken note of India’s statement “regretting the accidental firing”.

Pakistan said India must explain the measures and procedures in place to prevent accidental missile launches and the particular circumstances of this incident, including:

•The type and specifications of the missile that fell in Pakistani territory.

•The flight path/ trajectory of the missile and how it “turned and entered” Pakistan.

• Whether the missile was equipped with a self-destruct mechanism, and, if yes, why that had failed to actualise.

• Whether Indian missiles are kept primed for launch even under routine maintenance.

• Why India had failed to inform Pakistan immediately about the launch of the missile, waiting until Islamabad had announced the incident and sought a clarification.

Addressing the international community, Pakistan said that given the short distances and response times, any misinterpretation by the other side could lead to countermeasures in self-defence with grave consequences.

“Pakistan, therefore, calls upon the international community to take serious notice of this incident of grave nature in a nuclearised environment and play its due role in promoting strategic stability in the region,” it said.

Former Indian bureaucrat N.N. Ojha tweeted: “Nuclear powers aren’t expected to be complacent about accidental launches of their missiles. Hope it is thoroughly inquired so as to ward off recurrence.”

Responding to his tweet, Admiral Prakash said: “I agree. This incident is too serious to become the subject of levity or bravado. This ‘close call’ has lessons for everyone. It is also a grim reminder that Risk Reduction dialogue & Confidence Building Measures amongst nuclear trio of China-India-Pak are totally absent.”

Several Indian veterans praised Pakistan’s measured response on the matter.

Some Twitter users suggested that India’s “nationalistic” TV channels and “prime time news warriors” would have gone berserk and “declared World War III” had a Pakistani missile strayed into India instead.