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Pak. conducts another n-capable missile test

By Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD OCT. 8. For the second time in less than a week, Pakistan today conducted its second test of a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The surface-to-surface ballistic missile, known as Hatif-IV/Shaheen I, can carry any type of warhead up to 700 km.

A military statement said the missile was launched at 8:43 a.m. (IST) from an undisclosed location. Five days ago, Pakistan test-fired the Ghaznavi missile capable of carrying of any warhead up to 290 km.In the last few weeks, Pakistan has been complaining about the imbalance in conventional and non-conventional weapons in the region, on account of the alleged weapon acquisition by India. In their separate meetings with the U.S. President, George W. Bush, the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf (at New York), and the Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan (in Washington), raised the subject and asked him to use his good offices to correct the "growing conventional military imbalance''.

Islamabad had notified about the first test to all its neighbours and stated that more tests would follow.Strategic experts and diplomatic observers here see the latest tests as an effort by Pakistan to send out a message to India that it is not lagging behind in missile technology and is capable of addressing any threat from across the border.

The tests also reflect to some extent the assessment of Pakistan that the Srinagar peace initiative of the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has not gone very far.

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