Pakistan tests third Shaeen-1 missile ( 2003-10-14 14:49) (Agencies)
Pakistan test-fired an "indigenously developed" medium-range ballistic
missile on Tuesday, concluding a series of such tests that began earlier this
month, the military said.
"Pakistan today carried out another successful test fire of its indigenously
developed medium-range surface-to-surface ballistic Hatf-IV/Shaheen-1," a
statement from the military's public relations department said.
It was the second test of Shaheen-1 in less than a week.
Islamabad, wary of superiority of its rival India in conventional weapons,
carried out the first test of nuclear-capable Shaheen-1 on Wednesday. The
missile has a range of up to 700 km (435 miles) and can carry all "kinds of
warheads," the military has said.
Earlier this month, Pakistan tested a short-range Hatf-III Ghaznavi missile
that New Delhi dismissed as nothing special.
The military said the second test of Shaheen-1 concluded the latest series of
missile tests.
"Longer range version of the Hatf series will be tested in future as soon as
technical parameters need to be validated."
Pakistan and India engaged in what were seen as a tit-for-tat missile tests
last March, when Islamabad tested the short-range Abdali (Hatf-II) missile.
India test-fired the nuclear-capable Prithvi missile in April and then a
short-range, surface-to-surface missile in June.
Tensions between the two-nuclear armed neighbours have eased somewhat this
year after they came close to a fourth war in 2002 over an insurgency in divided
Kashmir. But there has been little progress towards peace talks partly because
of renewed violence in the disputed region.