Pakistan fired a nuclear-capable missile Friday, just two days after hosting a regional peace conference with archrival India.

The military said the surface-to-surface ballistic Shaheen III (three) missile has a range of 2,750 kilometers and can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads.

The military said the goal of the test was to validate “various design and technical parameters of the weapon system.”

The military did not disclose the location of the test, but the impact point was the Arabian Sea.

General Mazhar Jamil, the head of the Strategic Plans Division, said, “Pakistan desires peaceful co-existence in the region for which nuclear deterrence would further strengthen strategic stability in South Asia.”

Both Pakistan and India regularly hold nuclear tests and generally inform each other in advance.

The two neighbors have fought three wars, two of them over the divided Kashmir territory, which remains a major source of regional tensions.

Source: VOA News [xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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