Pakistan tests third missile in two weeks

Pakistan today test-fired a nuclear-capable missile able to hit many targets inside archrival India.

It was the third and last in a series of tests, the army said, but longer-range missiles are to be tested soon.

The medium-range, surface-to-surface Hatf-4, also known as the Shaheen-1, was successfully test-fired from an undisclosed location. The missile has a range of 435 miles.

The Indian Defence Ministry had no immediate comment on the test. Pakistan has insisted the tests are not aimed at its rival despite simmering tensions.

India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed countries, are bitter rivals who have fought three wars since their 1947 independence from Britain.

Media have reported that a long-range Shaheen-2 missile would be tested in coming days. It has a range of about 1,200 miles and has never been test-fired.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri said the tests were part of the regular schedule of its weapons programme, and not in response to any moves by India.

“We fired two, we may fire some more as well,” said Kasuri, who was in Malaysia for a major meeting of Islamic countries. “But it is not tit-for-tat. We have our own timetable.”