India unintentionally fired a missile into Pakistan, according to the defense ministry.

India unintentionally fired a missile into Pakistan according to the defense ministry.

The Indian military inadvertently launched a missile into neighboring Pakistan, New Delhi’s defense minister said on Friday, calling the incident “very unfortunate.”

Hindu-majority Since their independence from British colonial control in 1947, India and Muslim Pakistan have fought three wars, two of which have been fought over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Their shared border is heavily militarized on both sides, and there have been frequent flare-ups, with tensions occasionally generating worries of an atomic exchange.

“During routine maintenance, a technical breakdown resulted in the inadvertent discharge of a missile,” India’s defense minister said on Wednesday.

The sort of missile was not specified, although it was stated to have landed “in a Pakistani territory.”

The occurrence was “very unfortunate,” it stated, adding that it was “a matter of relief that no lives were lost as a result of the tragedy.”

The defense ministry refused to provide additional information to AFP.

The statement came just hours after Islamabad’s foreign ministry condemned a “unprovoked violation of its airspace by a’supersonic flying object’ of Indian origin.”

It went on to say that India’s charge d’affaires in Islamabad had been summoned to the foreign office for a “strong protest.”

The “irresponsible launch” had caused property damage on the ground and put human lives and aircraft in Pakistani airspace at risk, it claimed, accusing India of “callousness toward regional peace and stability.”

New Delhi has around 500,000 troops stationed in Indian-administered Kashmir, where rebel groups have fought for the region’s independence or union with Pakistan for decades.

New Delhi accuses Islamabad of supporting insurgents, which Islamabad denies.

In 2019, Indian aircraft targeted what New Delhi described as a terrorist training camp deep within Pakistan, following the death of 40 Indian troops in a suicide bombing claimed by a Pakistan-based militant outfit.

The next day, during aerial clashes over Kashmir, at least one Indian plane was shot down and its pilot was captured by Pakistan, but Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered him freed in a “peace gesture.”