The launch was conducted by the Army Strategic Force
command's strategic missile group at the end of a field-training
exercise aimed at testing the force's operational readiness,
the statement said.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Joint Chiefs
of Staff Committee chairman General Khalid Shahmeem Wyne
and other senior military officers and scientists witnessed
the tests, it said. "You have made the nation proud
and we salute you for your outstanding work," Gilani
told the scientists and engineers.
Gilani said Pakistan could be proud of its defense capability
and the reliability of its nuclear deterrence. This capability,
he added, 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," he said. "It
also sends the right signals internationally that Pakistan's
defense capability is impregnable and should never be
challenged."
Gilani said Pakistan was a responsible nation with an
extremely reliable nuclear capability and did not harbor
any aggressive designs against anyone.
South Asian rivals India and Pakistan - which have fought
three wars, two of them over the disputed territory of
Kashmir - have routinely carried out missile tests since
both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.
