Pakistan test-fires short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile
Pakistan has successfully tested a short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, its military says.
The army said in a statement on Wednesday that the NASR missile can carry nuclear warheads up to a distance of 70 kilometers.
NASR, which is a high-precision weapons system with the ability for quick deployment, will increase credible deterrence against prevailing threats more effectively, it said.
Pakistani Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was also present when the launch was conducted.
Speaking on the occasion, Bajwa said Pakistan would go to any lengths to ensure regional peace and stability. He said the missiles were meant to highlight that war is not an option. "We wholeheartedly support all government efforts at peace through dialogue."
Elsewhere in his remarks, the military chief said Pakistan's strategic capability was a guarantee of peace against a highly militarized and belligerent neighbor, an obvious reference to arch rival India.
Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have congratulated the scientists and lauded the efforts of all those involved in the successful launch.
The latest missile tests are expected to fuel already heightened tensions between neighbors Pakistan and India.
Pakistan and India have routinely tested ballistic missiles since they first became nuclear capable respectively in 1998 and 1974.
Neither of the neighbors has signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or other international regulatory pacts that restrict developing or testing nuclear weapons.
India considers the NPT as discriminatory, while Pakistan has indicated that it will not join the international treaty until its neighbor does.
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