Christian Science Monitor March 9, 2004
Pakistan test fires new long-range missile
New nuclear-capable rocket puts most of India at risk
By Seth Stern
Putting almost all Indian cities within range of attack, Pakistan, on Tuesday, successfully test fired its longest-range nuclear-capable missile yet.
The Pakistani military announced the over-the-ocean test in a statement: "The two-state Shaheen II missile system, which has been indigenously developed by Pakistani scientists and engineers, can carry all types of warheads up to 2,000 km (1,250 miles)."
The new missile exceeds the 930-mile reach of the Ghauri, previously Pakistan's longest-range missile, which some experts say was developed with North Korean, and perhaps Chinese, help.
The BBC characterized the test as "one of a number of routine" missile tests carried out by India and Pakistan since the two countries revealed the development of their nuclear weapons in 1998.
Pakistan last test launched a missile, the Htaf-Ghaznavi, in October, 2003. Pakistan had warned for weeks that this latest test was coming and had informed India, as has become routine custom preceding such tests.
The Pakistani statement said its weapons program is a response to that of nuclear-armed rival India, which has its own missile development program. "Our strategic force goals are guided by the concept of minimum credible deterrence and that's why we have to test these missiles from time to time," Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said Monday. He said the aim of the test would be to ensure the "reach" of the missile was sufficient to deter aggression and "prevent military coercion."
Last week, India concluded a deal with Israel to buy a strategic airborne radar system. Pakistan has complained that the radar system, which can put large parts of Pakistan under electronic surveillance, will threaten its security and require steps to keep a balance between the two countries. India had no immediate response to Tuesday's test.
The BBC suggests the test may be a "political statement" by Islamabad to show that its missiles and nuclear programs are moving ahead following the negative fallout from the proliferation scandal involving Pakistan's top nuclear research scientist, Dr. Abdul Qader Khan.
Reuters offered a similar analysis from a Pakistani defense analyst: "This particular test defies that kind of criticism or at least takes the sting away from that, and just sends the message out that Pakistan's missile program is very much on course," said Riffat Hussain, head of the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. "This underscores the fact that Pakistan's nuclear and missile program is well, robust and on track," he said.
The strongest reaction came from Japan, which expressed concern that Pakistan had conducted the test despite efforts by the international community to curb proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missiles, Reuters reported. "The Japanese government hopes that the test will not bring about a negative effect on positive developments between Pakistan and India towards improving their relations," said a statement from the Japanese embassy in Islamabad.
Still, there are signs of thawing tensions between the two South Asian powers. As the Monitor reported Monday, the test coincides with the first Indian cricket tour to Pakistan in 14 years. And Tuesday, a fresh round of talks addressed launching a bus service between the Indian state of Rajasthan and the Pakistani province of Sindh.
According to Globalsecurity.org, the Shaheen series of solid-propellant rockets is one of three components of Pakistan's missile effort. They appear to be modeled on Chinese-built missiles obtained since the early 1990s. Dr. Khan's laboratory, which is responsible for Pakistan's uranium bomb program, has imported and tested North Korean Nodong missiles under the name Ghauri and may also be considering longer-range Taepodong missiles, Globalsecurity.org says.
Khan's lab has been at the center of an international proliferation scandal amid revelations that he helped transfer nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea, and Libya.
The Guardian reports the UN's chief nuclear inspector, Mohammed El Baradei appealed to Pakistan Monday for help in determining the extent Iran benefited from the black market in nuclear secrets.
Opening a meeting in Vienna of the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. El Baradei indirectly said Pakistani assistance was critical to making sense of the nuclear clues found by his inspection teams in Iran. But informed diplomats said that Pakistan was refusing to provide detailed information or access to nuclear facilities, the Guardian reports.
© Copyright 2004, The Christian Science Monitor
