INDIA’S missile systems are “very reliable and safe,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said today after the military admitted having accidentally fired one into a residential area in Pakistan last week.

The missile damaged a wall but did not hurt anyone.

The accident caused panic as India and Pakistan are mutually hostile nuclear powers and a perceived attack could rapidly escalate.

The two have competing territorial claims over Kashmir, part of which is controlled by each, and Indian attacks on Kashmiri separatists have sometimes crossed over into Pakistan-controlled territory.

Mr Singh told MPs that a formal inquiry would be needed to work out why the missile had been fired. His ministry has blamed a “technical malfunction.”

Pakistan has called for a joint investigation.

“The grave nature of the incident raises several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against accidental or unauthorised launch of missiles in a nuclearised environment,” its foreign ministry said at the weekend.