'India's missile test-firing to start arms race'

Islamabad, Feb 27: Pakistan today resented India's successful test-firing of a nuclear-capable missile, saying it will start a new arms race in the region.

''This is going to start a new arms race in the region. We are aware of these developments and they are taking place with a view to put nuclear weapons at sea and it is a very serious issue,'' the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir told mediapersons in Karachi. The Associated Press of Pakistan quoted him as saying, ''The impact of the test-firing on the regional situation will be looked into and our best efforts would be that it has no adverse effect in the region.'' The first Indian undersea to surface ballistic missile was test-fired from Bay of Bengal yesterday.

Replying to a question about Pakistan"s participation in the war on terror, Admiral Tahir said it had a specific mandate and the Navy will remain within it.

''The war on terror has a very limited mandate under which Pakistan Navy is participating and there is nothing beyond that,'' he said.

UNI