Indian missile launch could have set off multiple crises, says Sherry Rehman

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Leader of the PPP in the Senate and Chairperson Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Sherry Rehman, reviewed the Indian missile crash into Pakistan and the follow-up of PM's Moscow visit.

The Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, chaired by Senator Sherry Rehman, which met here at the Parliament House on Wednesday, expressed serious concern over Indian projectile landing in Pakistani territory. The Chairperson, Senator Sherry, sought an in-camera briefing on the issue while showing the intent to call officials of the Air Defence Command and Strategic Plans Division in the next meeting.

Rehman said the Indian missile crash was an extremely dangerous indicator of multiple crises that could have been precipitated. She said an escalation of hostilities between two powerful, nuclearized countries must be avoided at all costs, especially in the absence of a framework for scaling down. “There is no current example in the world of such a risk-laden environment where two nuclear powers who have had four wars between them are also direct neighbours,” she said.

She said it is because of our turbulent history that the severity of this so-called ‘mistake’ cannot go unnoticed by Pakistan and the international community. “It is of paramount importance to note that this ‘technical glitch’ did not occur in disputed territory, rather 500 kms from Islamabad in Mian Channu,” she said. The senator said there are a series of procedures in place for testing, even if we are to accept this weak explanation that it was a missile that went off its charted course, why did it not self-destruct.

She said the incident calls into question why India, could let a mishap of such enormous magnitude “slip” through during a ‘routine check’. Briefing the committee on the issue, Secretary Foreign Affairs Sohail Mehmood apprised it of Pakistan's strong protest at this flagrant violation by summoning India charge D'affaires and handing over the questions seeking explanation and being cautioned against the recurrence of any such incident in the future. “Pakistan demands a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident,” he added.

On Russia/Ukraine War, she questioned “efforts taken by Pakistan to ensure the safe and secure return of its citizens with particular focus on students and the impact of Pakistan’s exposure.” Sohail Mehmood informed the committee that the Prime Minister's visit to Russia was planned two years ago. Last year, the prime minister was twice invited to visit Russia but was unable to do so because of the corona epidemic. “Several heads of state visited Russia and it was thought that there would be no war, but unfortunately, it happened during the visit. The prime minister, during his visit, called for resolving the issue through dialogue in a peaceful manner,” the foreign secretary maintained.

To the question about the stranded Pakistani in Ukraine, Sohail Mehmood said as many as 1,558 people were evacuated from Ukraine so far, and Pakistani students were evacuated from Ukraine via Poland. There are currently 15 to 20 Pakistanis in detention centres who do not want to be repatriated to Pakistan.