India successfully test-fired a long-range nuclear-capable missile on Thursday from an island in the Bay of Bengal.

The test, the fifth of the Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile, was made from a mobile launcher, and “further strengthens our credible deterrence”, the Indian defence ministry said in a statement.

India has been developing its nuclear and missile systems in recent years amid increasing strategic competition with China. The test was “a major boost to country's defence capabilities”, the ministry said.

Beijing's powerful missile arsenal has driven New Delhi to improve its weapons systems in recent years, with the Agni-5 believed to be able to strike nearly all of China.

Tension flared last year between the two neighbours over a long-disputed section of their border high in the Himalayas.

India is also increasingly suspicious of Beijing's efforts to heighten its influence in the Indian Ocean.

Opinion

Editorial

Debt that stays
30 Jul, 2026

Debt that stays

THE power sector’s circular debt grew by Rs61bn in the last fiscal year, taking the total to roughly Rs1.67tr from...
HIV warning
30 Jul, 2026

HIV warning

THE HIV infections detected around two SESSI-run hospitals in Karachi demand far more than another hurried committee...
End trafficking
30 Jul, 2026

End trafficking

MODERN slavery, in the form of human trafficking, is among the state’s gravest failures. Scores of Pakistanis are...
AJK elections
29 Jul, 2026

AJK elections

CONSIDERING the political unrest that has rocked Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the recent past, free and fair general...
Still vulnerable
29 Jul, 2026

Still vulnerable

THE State Bank’s decision to hold the policy rate at 11.5pc is a prudent response to the heightened risks the...
Guarding the past
29 Jul, 2026

Guarding the past

THE return of 513 smuggled archaeological artefacts from the US is a welcome homecoming for objects that should ...