Nuclear-capable missile launched

Islamabad: Pakistan yesterday successfully test-fired a new version of its short range nuclear-capable ballistic missile Hatf-III (Ghaznavi), a military announcement said.

A group of the Army Strategic Force Command (AFSC) fired the missile, which has a range of 290 kilometres, the statement said.

The missile test was the third in as many weeks. Last month Pakistan successfully test fired longer range Ghauri and Shaheen-1 ballistic missiles.

The Ghaznavi ballistic missile system was handed over to the strategic force command a few years ago and the latest test marked the culmination phase of the training exercise, the military statement said.

Excellent standards

The launch of the Ghaznavi was witnessed by the Chief of Air Staff Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmad, and a large number of senior military officers, scientists and engineers of the strategic organisations.

The air force chief congratulated the officers and other ranks of the AFSC on the "excellent standards achieved during the tactical and the technical phases of the training".

He said Pakistan could be justifiably proud of its defence capability and the reliability of its nuclear deterrence.

Pakistan is a key ally of the United States in its attempts to combat terrorism, and the test came a day after the US House of Representatives approved legislation allowing US shipments of civilian nuclear fuel to Pakistan's neighbouring, nuclear-armed rival, India.

Critics says the nuclear deal between Washington and New Delhi could trigger an arms race in South Asia.

- With additional inputs from AP