ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will create a new force in the military to supervise missile combat capabilities in a conventional conflict, apparently a move to match the neighboring arch-rival India.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the creation of the Army Rocket Force late Wednesday at a ceremony held in Islamabad to commemorate the worst conflict in decades with India in May.
The ceremony was held a day ahead of Pakistan’s 78th Independence Day.
“It will be equipped with modern technology,” Sharif said in a statement from his office, adding that the force will prove to be a milestone in strengthening the combat capability of Pakistan’s army.
He did not give any further details.
A senior security official, however, said that the force will have its own command in the military which will be dedicated to handling and deployment of missiles in any event of a conventional war.
“It is obvious that it is meant for India,” he said.
The two nuclear-armed nations keep upgrading their military capabilities in the wake of a longstanding rivalry since their independence from British rule in 1947.
The latest tension between the two countries soared in April over the killing of 26 civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir, an attack New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denied involvement.
A conflict then erupted in May, the most serious fighting between the two countries in decades, which saw both sides using missiles, drones and fighter jets before it ended with a ceasefire announcement by US President Donald Trump.
Islamabad acknowledges the US role, but India denies it, saying it was agreed directly between the two militaries.
