Pakistan has successfully test-fired its Abdali Weapon System—a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 450 kilometers—at a time of mounting tensions with India following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
In a statement released Saturday, Pakistan’s military said the training launch was conducted to ensure “the operational readiness of troops” and to validate the missile’s advanced navigation and enhanced maneuverability systems.
The test follows the April 22 attack in the Pahalgam tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians. India has blamed Pakistan for the assault, but Islamabad has firmly denied any involvement.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, reiterated Islamabad’s willingness to cooperate with any impartial investigation, saying the country is “fully prepared to cooperate with any neutral investigators to ensure that the truth is uncovered and justice is served.”
Amid the fallout, India has taken a series of punitive measures: it shut down the main land border crossing with Pakistan, downgraded diplomatic ties, suspended a bilateral water-sharing treaty, and revoked visas for Pakistani citizens. In response, Pakistan has retaliated by canceling visas for Indian nationals, closing its airspace to Indian flights, and ordering the expulsion of Indian diplomats and military advisers.
The missile launch also follows recent large-scale Indian military drills conducted in the Indian Ocean and near the Pakistan border, which Islamabad views as provocative.
The escalating diplomatic and military posturing between the two nuclear-armed rivals has raised regional and international concerns about potential conflict.
Source: Alahed English News
