Breaking News- India tests nuclear capable AGNI ballistic missle.
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Sunday April 11, 2:22 am Eastern Time
India tests medium-range Agni ballistic missile
By Sanjeev Miglani
NEW DELHI, April 11 (Reuters) - India said on Sunday it successfully test-fired a longer-range version of its Agni ballistic missile, ending a five-year period of restraint on the controversial weapon.
Soon after, rival neighbour Pakistan said Islamabad might give a ''befitting response'' to the test.
The upgraded version of Agni, which had a planned range of around 2,200 km (1,375 miles), was launched from an island off the eastern Indian coast at 10 a.m. (0430 GMT), Information and Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan told a news conference.
''I am happy to announce that India today has successfully launched IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic missile), which is Agni II,'' Mahajan said. ''The launch took place at 10 a.m. and it was perfect in textbook fashion.''
Agni, which experts believe to be nuclear-capable, was last tested in February 1994. Successive Indian governments had since been accused of mothballing the project under international pressure.
But India's Hindu nationalist-led government, which stunned the world with the country's first nuclear tests for nearly a quarter of a century shortly after talking office last year, had cleared plans for development of Agni's second phase.
''...the government has twice proved in one year that as far as national security is concerned they will not budge,'' Mahajan said.
He denied the missile test had anything to do with the political crisis that has gripped Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's fragile coalition. ''This has nothing to do with domestic politics, it was planned,'' he said.
A powerful regional partner has pulled out two of its ministers from Vajpayee's minority government and threatened to part ways plunging the year-old coalition into a new crisis.
Agni, named after a fire god, is seen as a potential deterrent to India's nuclear-armed neighbour to the north, China. It is part of a wide-ranging indigenous missile development programme.
Since last year's nuclear tests, Western nations have been urging India to fall in line with the global regime for nuclear arms control. In bilateral talks, Washington had been pressing India to go slow on its missile development programme.
India had alerted arch rival Pakistan about the impending missile test under a new agreement signed in Lahore in February, officials said.
''India informed Pakistan yesterday under the provisions of the Lahore declaration,'' an official in Vajpayee's office said.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz said Islamabad might soon respond to the test.
''Since they have gone ahead we would probably have to respond but we will make a decision in a day or two,'' he told Reuters. ''Most probably we would have to give a befitting response.''
Aziz said Pakistan like other countries had urged restraint on India but New Delhi had gone ahead with the test.
''Pakistan does not want to engage in an arms, nuclear and missile race with India and therefore we along with other countries have been advising restraint...,'' he said.
Rival missile testing by India last year led to tensions that were further heightened by their tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May.
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