Pakistan said it has successfully tested a ballistic missile with capability to carry both nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 2,750 kilometers.
Army officials said this the first time they have tested a missile with this range.
In a statement, the military’s media wing said Monday’s test launch of "Shaheen-III" missile was meant to validate “various design and technical parameters of the weapon system at maximum range.”
It added that senior officials from Strategic Plans Division, which commands the country’s nuclear weapons system, witnessed “the successful launch with its impact point in the Arabian Sea," calling it a major step toward strengthening Pakistan’s deterrence capability against any aggression.
The statement comes a day after the Pakistan prime minister’s adviser on national security and foreign policy, Sartaj Aziz, reiterated his country would not pursue an arms race with rival India but would maintain a strategic and symmetrical deterrent and conventional balance. Such equilibrium, he said, will guarantee peace and security in the region.
Pakistan and India both tested nuclear devices days apart in 1998. The two neighbors have fought three wars, two of them over the divided Kashmir territory, which remains a major source of regional tensions.
