ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI, 5 October — Less than a week before elections in Pakistan, nuclear neighbors Pakistan and India launched apparent tit for tat missile tests yesterday, following a resurgence of high-stake tensions over Kashmir.
The Indian test of a medium-range surface-to-air missile came some nine hours after Pakistan tested its own nuclear-capable medium-range ballistic missile. Islamabad then angrily accused India of fueling an arms race, a charge New Delhi immediately called an “overreaction”.
Pakistan first test fired its home-grown Hatf-IV or Shaheen missile, with a range of up to 800 kilometers, at 8:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) in the country’s south. India then tested its Akash missile, capable of traveling 25 kilometers, off its east coast at 4:30 p.m., calling it a “routine” exercise.
“We believe that India has done this to initiate an arms race which Pakistan has not at all indulged in,” Information Minister Nisar Memon told reporters in Islamabad. “India appears to be accelerating the arms race, which is regrettable.”
New Delhi strongly refuted Pakistan’s allegation, saying the two tests were not comparable. “This (Akash missile) is only for air defense. How can it be compared to Shaheen?” India’s Defense Ministry spokesman P.K. Bandopadhyay told reporters in New Delhi. “We have an integrated missile program in system and it is being tested according to plan. It has no relation to Shaheen. Pakistan’s reaction is an overreaction. In no way is it an act of provocation or an arms race.”
Meanwhile, a Pakistani defense expert played down the Indian test. “India had to do something to boost the morale of its people after Pakistan successfully tested its Shaheen missile,” defense analyst and retired Air Force Marshal Ayaz Ahmed told reporters in Islamabad. “There is no need to get concerned.”
Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes also sought to play down the gravity of the Pakistani test.
“It is a routine test. It need not worry us. They have their missiles and they are testing them. We have our missiles and we also do tests. We do not see a reason why we should be worried,” said Fernandes in New Delhi.
