06 June 2004	Sunday	17 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

ISLAMABAD, June 5: Pakistan has conducted missile tests aimed at verifying some design parameters, the Director-General of the Inter Services Public Relations, Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan, said.

Pakistan on Friday conducted a second successful test of the its medium range ballistic missile Hatf V (Ghauri).

Responding to a question in an interview with BBC, the ISPR DG said: "I don't think it is in any way provocative. Pakistan tested this missile basically to verify some of the design parameters."

He further said: "This is what Pakistan did a week earlier and this is what Pakistan is doing now, just to verify the design parameters."

Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan said: "I take a lot of pride in saying that all those design parameters have been successfully verified."

These tests were related with the testing of design parameters and whenever Pakistan needs to do that it would conduct such tests, he said in response to a question.

When pointed out that President Gen Pervez Musharraf had described this as a cornerstone of security policy, he said the cornerstone of Pakistan's security policy "is maintenance of credible minimum deterrence".

He said Pakistan would deter aggression by maintaining conventional as well as non-conventional forces. "So, that is the cornerstone of our security doctrine," he added.-APP