Pakistan Successfully Tests Short-Range Ballistic Missile

Pakistan successfully conducted a test launch on Thursday of its nuclear-capable, short-range Hatf-III (Ghaznavi) ballistic missile on Thursday, according to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The missile features a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles), which would place western India within target.

The chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Khalid Shameem Wynne, who witnessed the field exercise, said Pakistan had developed a “strong nuclear deterrence capability” and that the armed forces were “fully capable of safeguarding” the nation’s security against aggression.

The Pakistan military didn't reveal the location of the test.

The news follows a successful test by Pakistan of an intermediate-range ballistic missile nearly two weeks ago, which itself was likely a response to India’s launch of its new long-range, nuclear-capable Agni-V missile, which has a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) and could potentially strike any target as far as China and Central Asia.

Pakistan media reports suggest that India is focusing its defense networks more against China, while Pakistan remains concerned about India.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the 1947 partition cut the former British India into two nations; among other issues is who owns the disputed Kashmir territory. Both countries have routinely conducted missile tests and both possess nuclear weapons. Peace talks have recently resumed between New Delhi and Islamabad, more than three years after the Mumbai terror attacks put such negotiations on the shelf.