New Delhi: Amid heightened tensions with India, Pakistan on Saturday announced the “successful test-firing” of its Abdali Weapon System — a short-range, surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of striking targets up to 450 kilometre away.
The launch, conducted as part of Exercise INDUS, was aimed at “ensuring the operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters, including the missile’s advanced navigation system and enhanced manoeuvrability features”, according to a statement from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The development comes in the wake of a ghastly terror attack on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. At least 26 people were killed when terrorists opened fire on unsuspecting tourists in the Baisaran meadows. The Resistance Force, an offshoot of Pakistan-based terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, took responsibility for te attack.
Solid-fuel missile
Senior military officials, including the Commander of the Army Strategic Forces Command, members of the Strategic Plans Division, as well as scientists and engineers from Pakistan’s strategic organisations, were present to witness the launch. Following the test, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and the country’s service chiefs extended congratulations to the participating personnel, expressing full confidence in Pakistan’s strategic deterrence capabilities.
The Abdali (Hatf-II), a road-mobile solid-fuel missile developed by Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), is designed for battlefield use and can deliver either high-explosive payloads or submunitions with high accuracy. Its mobility and launch flexibility — using a Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) — make it a key component of Pakistan’s short-range deterrence arsenal.
Aftermath of Pahalgam attack
The timing of the missile test is significant, coming just days after India downgraded diplomatic relations with Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan-based groups. India suspended visas for Pakistani nationals, ordered a reduction of diplomatic staff at the Pakistani High Commission, and closed the Attari land border.
In addition, India revoked provisions under the Indus Waters Treaty, banned Pakistani-flagged vessels from its ports, and announced reciprocal trade restrictions — moves seen as part of a broader diplomatic and economic offensive against Islamabad.
Since the Pahalgam attack, Pakistan has issued four Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) signalling potential missile tests, although the Abdali launch is the first confirmed firing. Previous notices, issued between April 23 and May 2, either lapsed without action or were interpreted as strategic signalling.
Indian officials condemned the test, with intelligence sources describing it as a “reckless provocation” and a “dangerous escalation” at a time of deepening hostilities. “Such actions undermine regional stability and heighten risks of miscalculation between two nuclear-armed neighbours,” an Indian defence official told news agency PTI on condition of anonymity.
