ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan will create a new force in the military to supervise missile combat capabilities in a conventional conflict, apparently a move to match the neighbouring arch-rival India.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the creation of the Army Rocket Force late Wednesday at a ceremony held in Islamabad to commemorate the worst conflict in decades with India in May.
The ceremony was held a day ahead of Pakistan’s 78th Independence Day.
“It will be equipped with modern technology,” Sharif said in a statement from his office, adding that the force will prove to be a milestone in strengthening the combat capability of Pakistan’s army.
He did not give any further details.
A senior security official, however, said that the force will have its own command in the military which will be dedicated to handling and deployment of missiles in any event of a conventional war.
“It is obvious that it is meant for India,” he said.
The two nuclear-armed nations keep upgrading their military capabilities in the wake of a longstanding rivalry since their independence from British rule in 1947.
The latest tension between the two countries soared in April over the killing of 26 civilians in Indian Kashmir, an attack New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denied involvement.
A conflict then erupted in May, the most serious fighting between the two countries in decades, which saw both sides using missiles, drones and fighter jets before it ended with a cease-fire announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Islamabad acknowledges the U.S. role, but India denies it, saying it was agreed directly between the two militaries.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Michael Perry)
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