M A I N   N E W S

Pak test-fires Ghauri
We are not scared of war: Musharraf

An army vehicle carries the surface-to-surface Ghauri missile in Islamabad in this March 23, 1999 file photo. — Reuters photo

Islamabad, May 25
After announcing the successful test-firing of a Ghauri missile by Pakistan, President Pervez Musharraf said he would shortly address the nation to apprise people about the tension along the border adding that “we are not scared of war”.

The Pakistan President said he was not “impressed” by the reported two months’ deadline given by India for him to crack down on militants and stop infiltration into India.

Amid heightened tension, Pakistan today successfully test-fired a medium-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

“The missile was tested at 9.10 am. It has a range of 1500 km. It showed total accuracy. It hit the target,” General Musharraf said after the launch of Hatf-V, also called Ghauri.

Referring to Indian reaction that New Delhi was not impressed by Pakistan test-firing missiles, General Musharraf told a conference of Islamic clerics that “we in Pakistan too were not impressed by any deadline of two weeks or two months”. “They talk of giving two weeks or two months time (to Pakistan). We are not impressed by such talks either.” He said: “We do not want war but we are not scared of it.”

General Musharraf told the national “Seerat” conference in which a number of Islamic scholars took part that Pakistan is “fully prepared if war is imposed on us. PTI

Pak fired ready-made missile: India
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25
India today dismissed Pakistan’s “testfiring” of “indigenous” missile saying it was not a “test but only a firing of ready-made missile”.

When asked to comment on Pakistan’s missile antics of this morning, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said “it was nothing but a ready-made missile I don’t even call it a test. It is firing only.”

Minister of State for External Affairs Omar Abdullah said Pakistan’s missile test was clearly targeted at domestic audience. “This is not a message to us. This is a message to his (Gen Musharraf’s) own audience in Pakistan. He is a politician now and not a military general.