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India tests nuclear capable Agni missile

* Pakistan hopes arms race won’t spiral out of control

NEW DELHI: India test-launched a surface-to-surface missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons on Sunday, a defence ministry spokesman said, reported Associated Press.

The Agni II missile lifted off from India’s missile testing range on Wheeler Island off the coast of eastern Orissa state, said Defense Ministry official BS Menon. The island is about 1,220 kilometres southeast of New Delhi.

This was the third trial of the Agni II missile, which has a range of up to 2,500 kilometres. The missile can carry conventional and nuclear warheads weighing up to 1,000 kilogrammes, according to defence ministry figures. Indian authorities had earlier informed neighboring Pakistan about the launch. It is customary for the nuclear-armed rivals to notify each other before testing missiles capable of striking the other’s territory. “This was a scheduled test. And as is the practice, the External Affairs Ministry had informed Pakistan in advance about the missile test,” Menon said.

Sunday’s trial came a week before a scheduled meeting between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan in New Delhi to discuss disputes such as the countries’ conflicting claims to the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

On Sunday, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and over 100 scientists and military officials witnessed the successful launch, which met all test criteria including guidance accuracy and performance, Menon said. Developed by India’s Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the 20-metre (65-foot) missile weighs 16 tonnes. It can be fired from rail- and road-based missile launchers. It is armed with sophisticated technologies in control and guidance, re-entry, multi-staging and communication. The DRDO had earlier carried out test launches of the Agni II in April 1999 and January 2001.

Staff Report adds from Islamabad: Pakistan on Sunday called for “strategic restraint” after the Agni II missile test and said it hoped that the South Asian arms race would not spiral out of control.

The Foreign Office said Pakistan did not favour an open-ended arms race in South Asia. “We believe that a strategic restraint is in the interest of both Pakistan and India”, the FO said in a statement on Sunday in response to reports of the missile test. “We have noted that India has tested a surface-to-surface missile. In accordance with an existing understanding, the Indian government, through our High Commission in New Delhi, had given us prior notification about this test,” the FO said. It said Pakistan had also made a series of tests to validate technical parameters of its missile systems. “Pakistan and India are committed to working towards strategic stability. We would hold further talks on this subject in the near future,” it added.

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