ISLAMABAD/BHUBANESWAR – Pakistan and India tested their short-ranged nuclear missiles on Friday. Pakistan test fired its Surface-to-Surface (STS) Ballistic Missile Hataf-2 (Abdali) while India test fired a missile named Dhanush, meaning “archer’s bow” in Sanskrit, in the morning from a naval ship in the Bay of Bengal off to the eastern Orissa state and the second missile, the Prithvi II, or Earth, blasted off soon afterwards from a testing range at Chandipur-on-Sea, 200 kilometres northeast of Bhubaneswar, Orissa’s state capital.
Indian Test Range Director SP Dash told AFP, “The test of both missiles was successful and met the mission objectives.” According to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement, the missile test was conducted as part of the process of validation and technical improvements in the Land-Based Ballistic Missile Systems, the Hataf-2 (Abdali) has a range of 180 kilometres and can carry nuclear as well as conventional warheads with high accuracy.
Inputs added from AFP.
