Pakistan missile could hit India
India, Pakistan’s arch rival, was notified before the launch of the Hatf-III Ghaznavi missile. The missile is considered a short-range weapon with a range of 180 miles, but can hit key targets inside India.
“We have successfully test-fired the Hatf-III,” said army spokesman General Shaukat Sultan. In New Delhi, Defence Ministry spokesman Amitabh Chakravorty confirmed his government had been informed beforehand.
“Pakistan had given due notification to us,” he said. The ministry said a
detailed reaction could be expected later in the day. Sultan would not say where the test was conducted.
The missile test came with Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali in the middle of a visit to the US, and two days after he met with President Bush at the White House.
The two leaders reportedly discussed terrorism, the India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir and Washington’s desire for Pakistan to contribute peacekeeping troops to Iraq. India and Pakistan frequently have used missile tests as a form of diplomatic muscle-flexing.
Pakistan however, denied the test was linked to politics. “The timings of the tests reflect Pakistan’s determination not to engage in a tit-for-tat syndrome to other tests in the region,” an army statement said.
“Pakistan will maintain the pace of its own missile development program and conduct tests as per its technical needs,” it said.
Pakistan’s last missile test came on March 26, when it fired a short-range missile shortly after India announced a similar test. In 1998, the two countries conducted tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests, shocking the world and earning years of sanctions.
Relations between Pakistan and India appeared to be on the mend after Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said in April that he had sought peace talks over matters
including the flashpoint issue of the disputed territory of Kashmir but talks haven’t got off the ground.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.
