Delhi, Islamabad fail to reach missile test pact
Pakistan test-fires short-range missile
AFP, Islamabad
Pakistan has failed to reach a formal agreement with nuclear rival India on giving advance warning of missile tests due to rows over sharing sensitive details on launch sites and trajectories, a minister said. "They wanted more information than we are prepared to give," Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri told Japan's Kyodo news service in an interview published yesterday. The South Asian neighbours were also unable to reach agreement on whether cruise missiles should be included when they met late last year in a bid to finally hammer out the long-awaited deal, Kasuri said. Pakistan and India, who both conducted atomic tests in May 1998, inform each other under an unwritten 1999 agreement before conducting any of their regular missile tests. The agreement is designed to prevent misunderstandings leading to an accidental nuclear exchange. The two countries are currently engaged in a 14-month-old peace process under which sporting, cultural and transport links have been revived. Both had blamed the "complex" issues involved for failing to reach a formal deal on notification of missile tests but until now have not explained the details. Meanwhile, Pakistan yesterday successfully test-fired a short-range, nuclear-capable missile, the military said in a statement. The Hatf II, or Abdali missile is capable of reaching targets up to 180 kilometres (111 miles) away "and can carry all types of warheads," the statement said. "All desired technical parameters were validated." "As part of the usual confidence-building measures, prior notification of the test had been given to all concerned," it added. Pakistan and India, who both conducted atomic tests in May 1998, inform each other under an unwritten 1999 agreement before conducting any of their regular missile launches. On March 19 Pakistan tested a long-range missile capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads deep into India. The two countries are currently engaged in a 14-month-old peace process under which sporting, cultural and transport links have been revived. Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. Two were over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, which is divided between the two and claimed in full by both.
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