Article Posted on : - Apr 25, 2012

The Shaheen-1A ballistic missile, believed to have a range of 1,000 km, during test firing on Thursday. An ISPR photo

ISLAMABAD (BNS): Pakistan has test-fired an intermediate range ballistic missile, Hatf IV (Shaheen-1A), on Wednesday.

The impact point of the missile, which is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads, was at sea, an official statement said, without disclosing the missile's range.

The Shaheen-1A is an improved version of the Shaheen-1 missile with improvements in its range and technical parameters, the statement said while terming the test a success.

The Shaheen 1 short range ballistic missile has a range of around 750 kms.

Wednesday's launch was witnessed by senior defence officials who said the improved version of Shaheen 1A "will further consolidate and strengthen Pakistan's deterrence abilities."

The ballistic missile test by Pakistan comes days after India successfully conducted maiden test-firing of its Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), having a range of 5,000 kms, on April 19.

Islamabad had informed New Delhi about the upcoming missile test as did India about the Agni-V launch under a treaty signed between the two countries in 2005 that entails notifying each other in advance about any ballistic missile launch.