Defence Minister Khawaja Asif sidestepped answering a question on whether Pakistan had conducted a test of a hypersonic ballistic missile, saying such matters should not be asked about publicly.

“Now don’t ask all these questions. Ask such things in private,” he said while responding in an interview on Samaa TV show ‘Mere Sawal’ on Friday, when asked to confirm whether Pakistan had conducted the missile test or not.

The question came in the wake of a “rare lenticular cloud formation” observed over Quetta in the early hours of Tuesday that left the public puzzled over the phenomenon and its origins.

When asked about the matter earlier this week, Asif had dismissed the online chatter of a hypersonic ballistic missile test as mere speculation.

Citizens had reported sighting the phenomenon around morning prayers from many parts of Balochistan and speculation was rife about the likely cause. Many social media accounts hinted that the cloud formation was the result of a missile test or a new technology tested by the military.

In a post on X later in the day, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said the sight was a “lenticular cloud formation” which was observed early morning over the Koh-i-Murdar region.

“The cloud appeared before sunrise, persisted for approximately 20 minutes, and dissipated just prior to sunrise.”

As per the United Kingdom’s Met Office, lenticular clouds are lens-shaped orographic wave clouds that are formed when the air is stable and winds blow across hills and mountains from the same or similar direction at different heights through the troposphere.

“These strange, unnatural-looking clouds sometimes form downwind of hills or mountains … They look a lot like the traditional shape of flying saucers in science fiction, and real lenticular clouds are believed to be one of the most common explanations for UFO (unidentified flying object) sightings across the world,” it said.