Article Posted on : - Apr 19, 2011

Pakistan test-fired a short-range Hatf-9 missile. A file photo

ISLAMABAD (PTI): Pakistan Tuesday test fired a newly developed short-range surface-to-surface missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the military said.

The Hatf-9 missile, with a range of 60 km, can "carry nuclear warheads of appropriate yield with high accuracy,” the military said in a statement.

The "multi-tube ballistic missile" system had been developed to add "deterrence value to Pakistan's strategic weapons development programme at shorter ranges," it said.

"This quick response system addresses the need to deter evolving threats," it said, adding that the missile test, conducted at an undisclosed location, was successful.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani congratulated military scientists and engineers on the missile test.

Pakistan routinely tests what it claims are indigenously developed missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, with its arsenal including short, medium and long-range missiles.