June 4, 2004 :: Voice of America :: News
A week after testing a Hatf-5 (Ghauri) missile, Pakistan tested a second today. The Hatf-5 is nuclear capable, and said to have a range of 1,500km. Another version, however, called the Hatf-5A, is believed to have a range of 1,800km.
The two test firings took place despite earlier reports that Pakistan was going to test a 3,500 km range “Ghauri-3.” It is possible that Pakistan is intentionally underreporting the range of the missiles, to minimize international concern about their capabilities.
The location and time of the test were not reported. President General Musharraf witnessed the test, and seemed to indicate that Pakistan, unlike Libya, would not “rollback” its missile or nuclear programs.
Excerpt of Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf’s remarks upon the successful test:
I want to congratulate all of you, all the scientific organizations on this success. On this occasion, we should bow our heads before God almighty and we should be thankful that God almighty blessed us with the capability to stand on our own feet, and achieve this feat, this scientific development of these missiles and the nuclear power on our own. [applause] I congratulate all the scientists, engineers, technicians, staff, and all of you on your professional achievements. [applause] You people see in the newspapers and sometimes hear it on the television that some rollback is underway or there is a decrease in the development of our nuclear and missile capability. People who say this, I always tell them that they should be ashamed of saying such things, because we are not a small country, a weak country or people that we would be cowed down by others. They should be ashamed of saying such things because it indicates weakness, that we can be put under pressure, that we are so small that we would comply with almost anything anybody tells us. [applause] This is not the case. By the grace of God almighty, we are moving forward and you are seeing it for yourself. Whatever the needs of the scientific organizations, this country, this nation is providing all its resources to you people. And by the grace of God almighty, as our resources have increased we can provide more money to you and place all those resources at your disposal. In this connection, I like to assure you that these resources will always be available and, God willing, Pakistan’s nuclear power and missile power will - and you will see it yourself - gain in strength with the passage of time. [applause]
(Quoted by PTV World, Islamabad, via BBC Monitoring.)
(Article)» Pakistan claims it will test Ghauri-3, with 3,500km range
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