Pak test-fires nuclear-capable Ghauri ballistic missile

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today test fired the nuclear-capable Ghauri ballistic missile with a range of 1,300 kilometres that can hit targets in India, with Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani saying the launch demonstrated that the country's defence capability is "impregnable".

The Strategic Missile Group of the Pakistani army's Strategic Force Command conducted the test to mark the conclusion of a field training exercise aimed at testing the operational readiness of the formation that controls the nuclear-capable missiles.

A military spokesman said the test was successful. The Ghauri or Hatf-V is a "liquid fuel missile which can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads over a distance of 1,300 km," the spokesman said.

The military did not say where the missile was test fired.

Prime Minister Gilani, who witnessed the test along with Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne and Strategic Force Command chief Lt Gen Jamil Haider, said the nuclear deterrence "formed the bedrock of Pakistan's security policy and will continue to be enhanced."

"The test amply demonstrates the credibility of our minimum deterrence strategy, which is the cornerstone of our security policy and ensures peace in the region. It also sends the right signals internationally that Pakistan's defence capability is impregnable and should never be challenged," Gilani said in his speech on the occasion.

In an apparent response to renewed concerns expressed by the West about the safety and security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and the possibility of atomic materials falling into the hands of extremists, Gilani said: "I would also like to reiterate with full authority that Pakistan's nuclear weapons are safe, fully secure and under a multi-layered command and control system."

Pakistan is a "responsible nation with an extremely reliable nuclear capability and we do not harbour any aggressive designs against anyone," he said.