Pakistan Tests Missile Amidst Kashmir Conflict

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced on Saturday that his country had successfully test fired a medium-range surface to surface missile. So far, the government has not given any specific details about the launch of the Ghauri missile, which was developed by Pakistan and is capable of carrying either conventional or nuclear warheads.

Islamabad says Saturday’s launch was the first in a series of tests to be carried out in the coming days.

News of the launch was broadcast over Pakistani state television, where viewers greeted the test with cheering shouts. President Musharraf said he was pleased with the test: "We have successfully tested a Ghauri missile. I want to congratulate the military and our missile technology team for this successful test."

India was less than pleased with the test firing. Many in the country’s government questioned why Pakistan had chosen to carry out the launch at a time when tension along the border is so high. The Pakistan government insisted, however, that the tests were not linked with the tensions between Pakistan and neighboring India over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Pakistan had informed India that it would carry out short and medium range missile tests between May 25 and May 28.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Saturday downplayed the tests by Pakistan saying that New Delhi did not consider it a serious development. "The test has taken place," he said. "We are not taking it with any greater amount of seriousness".

Kashmir conflict

The two states have been locked in a military standoff over the Himalayan region of Kashmir since a December raid on India’s parliament, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic terrorists. Over the course of the last few weeks, India has put pressure on Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism.

Prime Minister Vajpayee said on Saturday that India’s patience was running out, and he called on world leaders to press Pakistan to crack down on terrorism.

"We have waited for too long and our wait is nearing its end," Vajpayee told reporters. He said India is firm in its commitment to end terrorism and protect the Indian-controlled sector of Muslim-majority Kashmir.

Throughout the last week, tensions steadily increased as both states massed more than a million troops along their borders. The rival nuclear powers have engaged in a heavy exchange of fire over the last few days, raising fears of a fourth war since the two states gained independence from British rule in 1947.

International intervention

Meanwhile, the international community continues diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between the feuding neighbors. On Friday, European Union External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten met with Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh in Delhi. The EU, Patten said, is concerned about a further expansion of the Kashmir conflict and has called for an end to the cross-border terrorism.

"I think we’re on a knife’s edge. And I think that it’s absolutely essential in order to move away from the edge that something happens to reduce the level of infiltration across the line of control in Kashmir and that the level of violence in Kashmir abates. I think that has to be a first step before anything else is going to happen," Patten said in New Delhi.

The EU representative praised the Indian government’s patience in pressuring Pakistan to crack down on terrorists. At the same time though, Patten made it clear that he adopted India’s position of blaming Pakistan for harboring Islamic terrorists operating in Kashmir.

US President George W. Bush echoed the EU diplomat on Saturday, when he urged President Musharraf to fulfil his pledge to stop militants from carrying out raids within the Indian sector of Kashmir. "It’s very important that President Musharraf does what he said he was going to do... and that is to stop the incursions across the border," Bush said while visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Both Bush and Putin discussed the Kashmir conflict in detail during their summit meeting on Friday and Saturday. "We are spending a lot of time on this subject," Bush told reporters in St. Petersburg. "We are making it very clear to both parties that there is no benefit in war, there is no benefit in a clash that could lead to wider war."

The two leaders said they were alarmed by events in the region including Pakistan’s missile test. "Of course the testing, while there is escalating tension, has really aggravated the situation and I’m concerned about that," Putin said.

The diplomatic efforts will pick up next week when British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw visits India to discuss the situation with Prime Minister Vajpayee. French President Jacques Chirac is also expected to speak with the Indian leader over the weekend.