New Delhi: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday said there was “a strong case for an institutionalized dialogue with Pakistan on the nuclear issue” after mentioning the accidental firing of an Indian missile which landed in Pakistani territory. Tewari told the Lok Sabha that Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh explained how the missile ended up in Mian Channu in Pakistan. “I have no quibble with his statement. However facts that have emerged in the public space suggest that Pakistan had prepared a retaliatory strike when the missile entered their territory… “Number two, the trajectory of the missile had a large number of civilian aircraft in its vicinity and there could have been an unintended catastrophe,” he said. “We were lucky on that particular day but through you I would like to urge the government that this is an extremely sensitive issue, they have constituted a court of inquiry but there is a strong case for an institutionalised dialogue with Pakistan on nuclear issues,” he said. An Indian missile without a warhead launched on March 9 ended up in Pakistan. The Defence Ministry said this happened during routine maintenance and blamed it on a technical malfunction. UNI AO MR
