India Rejected Pakistan’s Missile Alert Offer

India was not aware that Pakistan had a cruise missile when it rejected a Pakistani proposal to include the missiles in a test notification agreement, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, Aug. 12).

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Naeem Khan said Saturday that Pakistan proposed cruise missiles be included, “but the Indian side did not agree and insisted that only advance information be provided concerning ballistic missile tests.”

Pakistan tested its first cruise missile on Thursday without giving advance word of the launch.

“Clearly Pakistan had this capability and Pakistani scientists have been able to develop this indigenously and through sustained hard work,” Khan said. He added that India has never told Pakistan of Brahmos cruise missile tests. That missile, developed with Russia, enables India to strike targets 180 miles away and can carry a 660-pound conventional warhead.

The advance notification agreement has not yet been signed, according to AP (Sadaqat Jan, Associated Press, Aug. 13).

Pakistan this weekend also vowed to continue developing its nuclear and missile capabilities, the Press Trust of India reported.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said improvements must be made to keep pace with changes in the region.   That is why Pakistan is developing a cruise missile with a range of more than 600 miles, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said.

“The most recent example is successful test-firing of Babur cruise missile. It is a great responsibility to safeguard our independence. Pakistan today is a nuclear power and no one can cast an evil eye on our beloved country,” Aziz said Sunday at a Pakistani independence day celebration (Press Trust of India, Aug. 14).

Meanwhile, Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday that his country’s missile program was developing on schedule, PTI reported.

“The country's missile development program is running smoothly and on schedule,” he said (Press Trust of India II/OutlookIndia.com, Aug. 13).  

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