Pakistan test fires short-range ballistic missile

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Monday it the military successfully test fired a short-range ballistic missile capable of carrying atomic warheads. The Hatf II (Abdali) has a range of 180 kilometres and carries nuclear as well as conventional warheads with “high accuracy”, the military said in a statement. “It provides an operational level capability to Pakistan’s strategic forces, additional to the strategic and tactical level capability which Pakistan already possesses,” the statement said. South Asian rivals India and Pakistan – which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 – have routinely carried out missile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998. Pakistan’s arsenal includes short-, medium- and long-range missiles named after Muslim conquerors. The neighbours were on the brink of nuclear conflict in 2002 over the disputed territory of Kashmir, but a slow-moving peace dialogue resumed last March after a three-year suspension following the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. India and the United States blamed the attacks on Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and Islamabad later admitted that the assault was at least partly planned in Pakistan.