Pakistan
on Thursday said an unidentified high-altitude supersonic object originating
from India had crashed in Pakistani territory, endangering civilian passenger
flights. The Pakistani military sought an explanation from New Delhi.

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“On
March 9, at 6:43 PM, a high-speed flying object was picked up inside the Indian
territory by Air Defence Operations Centre of the Pakistan Air Force
(PAF),” said Major General Babar Iftikhar, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General. “From its initial course, the object suddenly
manoeuvred towards Pakistani territory and violated Pakistan’s air space,
ultimately falling near Mian Channu at 6:50 PM.”

“When
it fell, it damaged civilian properties,” he said, adding no loss of life
was reported.

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Baba,
however, said the military was not sure of the nature of the object, which
crashed near the eastern Pakistani city of Mian Channu and originated from the
Indian city of Sirsa, in India’s western Haryana province.

“Pakistan
strongly protests this flagrant violation and cautions against recurrence of
any such incident in the future,” he warned.

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Air
Vice Marshall Tariq Zia told the media that at the time this projectile was
picked up, there were two airway routes active and several commercial airlines
in the area. “If you look at the speed and height of the projectile, it
was 40,000 feet high, and the airlines were between 35,000 to 42,000 feet. This
could have been very detrimental to the safety of passengers.”

India
didn’t respond

Though
Pakistan sought India’s response, the Ministry of Extern Affairs did not issue
any statement regarding the allegation.

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“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 of ground,” Babar said.

A
Pakistan air force official at the press conference said the object was being
analysed forensically and initial studies suggested it was a surface-to-surface
supersonic missile but was unarmed.

He
said it travelled at an altitude of 40,000 feet, at Mach 3, and flew 124 km (77
miles) in Pakistani airspace before crashing.

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Babar
said the military would not jump to conclusions until they got an explanation
from India, but said that Pakistan strongly protests against this
“flagrant violation” of its airspace.

“Whatever
caused this incident to happen, it is for the Indians to explain,” Babar
said.