Pakistan Monday said a launch last week of a nuclear-capable medium range missile would be followed by more tests in coming months, despite US requests to scale back its weapons programme."We have tested Shaheen II missile and and in next few months will conduct more tests," Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf told a gathering of tribal leaders in northwest city of Peshawar, which borders Afghanistan.
The test, conducted last Tuesday was the first of the locally-built Shaheen II or Hatf-VI missile, which can carry warheads up to 2,000 kilometersmiles).
Shortly after the test, which came as nuclear rivals India and Pakistan are inching towards closer ties after narrowly avoiding full scale conflict, prompted a request by Washington for restraint in the region.
However, Musharraf said that international community would not object to further testing by Pakistan.
"The world is not going to stop us because this is a question of our national prestige."
Shaheen-II is the longest-range missile tested by Pakistan so far and its arsenal includes the Ghauri missile -- test fired in 1997 -- which can hit targets up to 1,500 kilometers.
All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.
Quick Links
SpaceWar
Search SpaceWar
Subscribe To SpaceWar Express
