Pakistan successfully launched the latest version of an indigenously developed
nuclear-capable cruise missile on Monday.
The Shaheen-III missile has a maximum range of up to 1,700 miles, according to members of the Pakistani
military. Depending upon the missile’s placement, Pakistan would be capable of
carrying out a nuclear strike from Israel in the West to Kazakhstan in the
north and Burma in the east.
Although the
missile would allow Pakistan to target the entirety of the Middle East and
Central Asia, the missile’s primary target would be Islamabad’s archrival:
India.
With a range
of 1,700 miles, the Shaheen-III would allow Pakistan to target any location in
India with a nuclear strike.
“Now, India
doesn’t have its safe havens anymore,” Shahid Latif, a former commander of the
Pakistani air force, told the Post. “It’s all a reaction to
India, which has now gone even for tests of extra-regional missiles … It sends
a loud message: If you hurt us, we are going to hurt you back.”
The test
comes a week after Pakistan and India held their first high-level talks in
almost a year, the AFP reports. The development of the Shaheen-III
is intended as a “credible deterrence” against any possible Indian aggression
towards the country.
India’s
military is superior to Pakistan’s in terms of
technological capacity and sheer numbers. Any full-scale conventional war
between the two countries would likely end with India blockading Pakistan’s
ports and seizing a considerable amount of land.
To
compensate, Pakistan has invested heavily in its nuclear det errant. Although
both countries have nuclear weapons, India has strict policies against the
first use of the nuclear weapons. Pakistan does not share this stance, as the
Post explains.
The Council
on Foreign Relations estimated that there was a low chance of a
war between India and Pakistan in 2015. However, if such a war were to take
place it could conceivably involve the use of nuclear weapons from both sides.
The two countries have had a shaky ceasefire in place since 2003, although they
exchanged artillery shelling in October 2014.
India and
Pakistan are the world’s 2nd and 10th biggest arms importers,
respectively.
India has
recently carried out its own missile tests. In October 2014, the country successfully tested a nuclear-capable
cruise missile, and in December 2014 New Delhi began sea trials of a ballistic missile
submarine. The Washington Post
No comments:
Post a Comment