Pakistan test-fired its first cruise missile on President Pervez Musharraf’s 62nd birthday on Thursday, in the latest escalation of the arms race with rival India.
Delhi declined to comment on the launch of the Babur, a terrain-hugging missile with a range of almost 500km which can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.
Musharraf hailed the Babur as a ”gift to the nation”. It would, he said, ”further improve the balance of power in the region”.
The missile was fired at an undisclosed location just days before Pakistan’s August 14 independence celebrations.
India was not notified about the launch, even though the two governments agreed earlier this week to give each other advance warning of future tests.
Pakistani army officials argued the deal applied only to ballistic weapons.
Analysts said the launch was unlikely to rock the peace process with India. But it highlighted the paradox of strengthening diplomatic and economic ties in parallel to a continuing military build-up.
”It’s a very peculiar situation,” said Talat Masood, a retired army general and political analyst in Islamabad.
”On the one hand, Pakistan is pushing for peace; on the other hand, it doesn’t want to be left behind India.”
The United States has become central to tensions between the nuclear rivals. A 10-year defence pact signed between the US and India last June allowing Delhi to buy American-made Patriot missiles provoked muted fury in Islamabad.
America is moving closer to India, which it sees as a counterweight to the growing strength of China across Asia. But Pakistan, which is a close US ally in the hunt for al-Qaida, still has restricted access to powerful US weapons.
Thursday’s Babur launch was designed to show that Pakistan can keep pace with its archrival, said Masood. ”Morale was shaken by the Indo-US agreement. Now the government wants to show that all is not lost,” he said.
Weapons experts said the Babur — named after a Mughal Emperor who overran Delhi in the 16th century — is a significant addition to Pakistan’s arsenal.
According to an army statement, it can be launched from war ships, submarines and fighter planes, and can fly under radar defence systems and hit targets with ”pinpoint accuracy”.
Pakistan had joined the few countries to ”design and make cruise missiles”, said MajorGeneral Shaukat Sultan, an army spokesperson.
Last week Pakistan and India agreed to set up a phone hotline to avoid accidental nuclear conflict. – Guardian Unlimited Â