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Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile
Pakistan conducted a successful test Saturday of its Ghauri nuclear-capable ballistic missile, according to Reuters (see GSN, May 21). Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali observed the test of the 1,500-kilometer-range missile, also called the Hatf-5, according to the military. “The prime minister made it clear that Pakistan’s edge over its adversaries in the strategic field will be maintained at all costs,” the Pakistani military said in a statement. “(The) government will provide necessary resources to maintain the quality of the nation’s defense,” it added. An Indian Defense Ministry official said the test had been expected, Reuters reported (Zeeshan Haider, Reuters/Yahoo!News, May 29). Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil yesterday, though, said the test escalated military tensions in the region. “It is escalating the arms race,” Patil said. “Our policy is to strengthen our country. ... We have to take note of it and have to do what we should do,” he added (Associated Press/The Star, May 30). Pakistan yesterday denied that the test was linked to the recent change in the Indian government following parliamentary elections, according to Agence France-Presse. “The timing of the test was coincidental,” said Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan. “It was not intentional or deliberate in the sense that the test was conducted after the new government in Delhi took over and after the political transition in India,” he added (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, May 31).
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