Close on the heels of a missile test Friday, Pakistan has announced it plans to fire another Shaheen-series missile tomorrow (see GSN, Oct. 4).

President Pervez Musharraf approved the test of the Hatf 4, which is capable of reaching all Indian military sites, the Islamabad News reported today (News, Oct. 7).

India test-fired a surface-to-air missile shortly after Pakistan’s test Friday but is not planning to do the same tomorrow, AFX reported today (AFX, Oct. 7).

Indian officials did, however, accuse China of aiding Pakistan’s nuclear program (see GSN, Feb. 4).

“It is well known that Pakistan’s missiles are based on clandestinely imported material, equipment and technology,” Nirupama Rao, an Indian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said after Friday’s test flights.

A top official made more direct accusations over the weekend.

“Everyone knows what Pakistan will be without China,” Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes said Saturday.  “Its ego is boosted purely by the support it gets from China” (Ranjit Devraj, Inter Press Service/TerraViva, Oct. 7).

The United States has expressed displeasure with the tests.

“There is a charged atmosphere in the region.  These tests can contribute to that atmosphere, make it harder to prevent a costly and destabilizing nuclear missile arms race,” U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.  “A race like that would be a further threat to regional and international security” (U.S. State Department release, Oct. 4).

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