The Pakistani Army on Thursday said it had successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile called Ghaznavi. The missile is capable of “delivering multiple types of warheads up to 290 km”, said armed forces spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor.

This came amid rising hostilities between Pakistan and India since New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status earlier this month.

Ghafoor said President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan had conveyed their appreciation to the team and congratulated the nation.

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The short-range missile was launched from the Sonmiani flight test range in Balochistan after midnight, Hindustan Times reported.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated since India’s August 5 announcement that revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Islamabad, which has fought three wars with India for Kashmir since Independence, has not taken the decision well.

Soon after the announcement, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties and suspended bilateral trade with India. Since then, the country has raised the Kashmir dispute at the United Nations Security Council and has said that it would take it up at the UN Human Rights Council and the International Court of Justice as well.

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Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan had told The New York Times in an interview that he would no longer attempt to deliberate with the Indian government on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and raised concerns about an imminent military escalation between the two nuclear powers. “And then you are looking at two nuclear-armed countries eyeball to eyeball...,” Khan had told the newspaper. “My worry is that this can escalate and for two nuclear-armed countries, it should be alarming for the world what we are facing now.”

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