Pakistan conducts test of ballistic missile with range of 450 km

Delhi, New Delhi: The Pakistani military launched the 450-kilometer-range Abdali surface-to-surface ballistic missile on Saturday, just hours after Indian officials declared that Pakistan's intentions to test a ballistic missile would be viewed as a "reckless act of provocation.

" Pakistan's military's media arm, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement that the launch was "aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of troops" and "validating key technical parameters, including the missile's advanced navigation system and enhanced manoeuvrability features." Pakistan's strategic forces now use the Abdali, a tactical ballistic missile deployed on land. Additional information regarding the missile was not included in the ISPR statement, but it seems that the Saturday test version had a greater range.

The range of the road-mobile, solid propellant Abdali missile was formerly estimated to be between 180 and 200 kilometers. The planned Pakistani ballistic missile test was viewed by Indian authorities as a "dangerous escalation" of Islamabad's "hostile campaign" against New Delhi and a "reckless act of provocation," as HT was the first to reveal just hours before the test.