Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test fired a short-range multi-tube ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The Hatf IX (NASR) has a range of only 60 kilometres and can carry conventional warheads, the military said.
“This quick response system addresses the need to deter evolving threats, specially at shorter ranges,” it said in a statement.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the test was witnessed by Director General Strategic Plans Division Lieutenant General (r) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, NESCOM Chairman Irfan Burney, Commander of the Army Strategic Forces Command Lieutenant General Tariq Nadeem Gilani, senior officers from the strategic forces, and scientists and engineers of strategic organisations.
Kidwai, while terming the NASR missile as a weapon of peace, said that the test was a major development which would consolidate Pakistan’s deterrence capability at all levels of the threat spectrum, thereby ensuring peace in the region. It was the third time Pakistan has test fired a ballistic missile since arch-rival India last month launched its new long-range Agni V, capable of hitting targets anywhere in China.
Pakistan tests short-range N-capable missile
