ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday conducted a successful test flight of an indigenously developed guided multi-launch rocket system called Fatah-1, the Pakistani military said, capable of delivering a conventional warhead.
Arch-foes Pakistan and India routinely test newly developed weapon systems in their quest to gain military advantage over each other.
“The weapon system will give Pakistan Army capability of precision target engagement deep in enemy territory,” the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistani military, said.
Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Nadeem Raza and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa congratulated the participating scientists and troops on the successful test.
On August 11, India tested its Defense Research and Development Organization-developed cruise missile off the coast of Odisha’s Balasore district.
A day later, Pakistan successfully conducted the test launch of a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, Ghaznavi (Hatf III). The test was “aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command, besides re-validating technical parameters of the weapon system,” the ISPR said at the time.
The nuclear-armed adversaries have fought three wars — two of them over the disputed Kashmir region — besides engaging in skirmishes along the de-facto border in Kashmir and the one dividing the Punjab province between the two nations.
Pakistan successfully test fires guided multi-launch rocket system ‘Fatah-1’
https://arab.news/c7vtf
Pakistan successfully test fires guided multi-launch rocket system ‘Fatah-1’
- The indigenously developed weapon system is capable of delivering a conventional warhead
- Pakistan army says rocket system will provide precision target engagement deep inside enemy territory
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
