November 22, 2007	Thursday	Ziqa’ad 11, 1428

JODHPUR, Nov 21: India has tested an air defence missile at a site close to its border with Pakistan where it conducted a string of nuclear detonations in 1998, officials said Wednesday.

Military scientists tested the medium-range surface-to-air missile Akash, or Sky, from Pokhran, some 200 kilometres from Pakistan’s borders last week but gave details of the flight only on Wednesday.

The flight was carried out in near-secrecy from Pokhran, where nine years ago India tested a string of nuclear weapons including a thermo-nuclear device and sparked global sanctions against New Delhi.

“The test was a success and we hope Akash will be inducted very soon into the army,”

Samir Sinha, spokesman of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, said in Jodhpur in Rajasthan state.

—AFP