Pakistan carried out a successful test-fire of its indigenously developed nuclear-capable short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile Hatf-III Ghaznavi Monday morning, Pakistan Army said. A statement issued by the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) said that this was the third test of Ghaznavi missile, which, like other available missiles on Pakistan's strategic inventory, is capable of carrying nuclear and other types of warheads accurately up to a range of 290 kilometers. The place where the test-fire was conducted was not disclosed. The statement said Pakistan gave prior notification of the test to its neighbouring countries (including India). The test was part of a series of tests planned to be conducted in order to verify certain parameters and to further refine different sub-systems of the missile. The statement said the flight data collected indicates that all the design parameters have been successfully validated. It recalled that Ghaznavi missiles have already been inducted in the Army's Strategic command. Pakistan's nuclear and missile programme will maintain the pace of development and tests will continue to be conducted as per technical needs. President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz congratulated the team of officers and men on their outstanding successes.
