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Pakistan Says Indian Missile Test A Threat To Regional Stability
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| Indian missile Agni: a threat to Pakistan and China |
ISLAMABAD, Jan. 25 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Pakistan said Friday an Indian missile test was "prejudicial" to regional stability and warned New Delhi that it was ready to defend itself against any aggression.
"We hope the international community will take note of this Indian behavior which is prejudicial to the pursuit of stability in our region, especially during the current situation," a Pakistani foreign office statement said.
"The test comes at a time of tensions when the Indian forces are massed on our borders,” added the statement carried by Agence France-Presse (AFP). “On its part, Pakistan favors a policy of restraint in the region."
India earlier Friday tested a short-range version of its nuclear-capable Agni I.
The test of the Agni missile was carried out on the eve of India's Republic Day, and was seen as sending a firm message to the country's nuclear neighbors, Pakistan and China, according to BBC’s online news service.
India has fought one war with China and three with Pakistan.
Agni means "fire" in Hindi, India's national language.
Other details on the new version were not immediately available from the testing range at Chandipur, about 750 miles southeast of New Delhi.
The earlier version of the Agni has a range of about 1,500 miles.
Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, said the test was one of several steps India was taking to ensure its own security.
"For the nation's security and protection, we are taking several steps and Agni is one among them," BBC quoted him as saying.
The Pakistani foreign ministry warned "Pakistan has the means to defend itself", but implied there would be no tit-for-tat missile test.
"Our missile program follows the logic of technical requirements," the statement said.
"We test when it is technically required in the process of development and validation of our missile capabilities."
Officials in New Delhi said the missile was fired into the Arabian Sea from the Chandipur test range off the eastern coastal state of Orissa.
Nirupama Rao, spokeswoman for the External Affairs Ministry, said the test had been planned before the latest military escalation with Pakistan.
"The test was taken in a non-provocative manner across international waters," Rao said.
She said Pakistan had been informed in advance, along with the five nuclear powers - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
Islamabad confirmed it had been warned of the test.
The test comes as nuclear rivals India and Pakistan stand ready for war, with some 800,000 troops massed in battle formations along the border, following a December 13 attack on India's parliament, which New Delhi blames – without concrete evidence – on Pakistani militants.
Pakistan has completely denied New Delhi’s accusations of Pakistan-based militants having carried out the attack.
India has refused to order its troops to stand down despite a crackdown on militant groups in Pakistan and repeated appeals for restraint from Washington and the United Nations.
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