 "Operation Sindoor: What missiles does Pakistan have? How far can they travel into India?")
Tensions are rising between India and Pakistan.
On May 7, India struck at several targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in ‘Operation Sindoor’ as retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack.
Pakistan has called the strikes an ‘act of war’ and said that it has every right to give a “befitting reply.”
Pakistan in a statement said, “The Armed Forces of Pakistan have duly been authorised to undertake corresponding actions in this regard.”
Many are now wondering if Pakistan intends to attack India with missiles.
But what missiles does Pakistan have? How far can they travel?
Let’s take a closer look:
What missiles does Pakistan have?
As per ArmsControl.org, while Pakistan has short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, it does not have a long-range ballistic missile system.
The latter are those that have a range of over 3,500 kilometres. They are used to deliver nuclear weapons.
Pakistan’s longest range missile is the Shaheen-III – which was tested in 2015 and which has an estimated range of 2,750 kilometres.
As per Bloomberg, this means that the Shaheen III can reach every part of India –including Mumbai and Delhi.
Catch all the live updates from Operation Sindoor here
Its Shaheen II missile has a range of 1,500 to 2,000 kilometres while the Shaheen 1 has a range of 750 to 900 kilometres.
As per ArmsControl.org, Pakistan is currently working on the Ababeel medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM).
The system is thought to have a range of around 2,200 kilometres.
It is also estimated to have multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) capabilities.
As per The Bulletin, Pakistan’s Ghauri missile is a nuclear-capable medium-range ballistic weapon.
The Pakistan government estimates Ghauri’s range at 1,300 kilometres.
Pakistan also has the Babur cruise missile.
This weapon system has a range of 700 kilometres.
It flies low to avoid radar and is pinpoint accurate.
As per The Times of India, Pakistan also has the nuclear-capable Abdali weapon system.
This ballistic missile has a range of 450 kilometres.
It is based on the Hatf-II Abdali missile — a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM).
Named after 18th Century Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, it can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.
Designed for tactical use on the battlefield, Pakistan has mused about using it as a ‘quick strike’ option against India.
Pakistan tested the Abdali missile over the weekend.
“The launch was aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters, including the missile’s advanced navigation system and enhanced manoeuvrability features,” the government said as per NDTV.
As per Newsweek, Pakistan also has the Ra’ad air-launched cruise missiles (ALCM).
These cruise missiles “can deliver nuclear and conventional warheads with great accuracy,” as per the Inter-Services Public Relations.
The Ra’ad cruise missiles have a range of 350 kilometers and “complement[s] Pakistan’s deterrence capability” by achieving “strategic standoff capability on land and at sea.”
Pakistan’s Ra’ad II missiles, which were first tested in February 2020, can reach a target of up to 600 kilometres.
Pakistan’s Fatah series surface-to-surface missile has a range of 120 kilometres, as per The Times of India.
_A_s per Moneycontrol, this rocket is relatively new to the ranks of Pakistan’s missiles.
It is likely an updated version of China or North Korea’s rocket systems – likely the WS-2/3 or KN-09 MLRS model.
As per The Diplomat, the Fatah-II missile has a range of 400 kilometres.
It can hit targets with pointpoint accuracy – including the Russian-made S-400 Triumf missile systems owned by India.
The Fatah-II rocket can hold a 365-kilo warhead.
It has a navigation system, unique trajectory, and is maneuverable – all of which allow it to hit targets with high precision and sidestep missile defence systems.
Pakistan also tested the Fatah missile over the weekend as part of exercise ‘INDUS’ – a reference to the Indus Waters Treaty.
Islamabad said the test-firing was done to check “key technical parameters” and for “operational readiness of troops”
Pakistan also has the Nasr – which is a Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM).
While this weapon has a range of about 70 kilometres, what makes it deadly is that it is nuclear capable.
Essentially, it can be used on the battlefield against Indian troops.
Islamabad views the Nasr as a counter against India’s ‘Cold Start’ doctrine.
Pakistan also has the Exocet anti-shipping cruise missile – which has a range of around 180 kilometres.
Its Ghaznavi short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is thought to have a range of around 290 kilometres.
Pakistan as a nuclear power and what experts say
Now, let’s take a look at Pakistan as a nuclear power.
Pakistan became a nuclear power in 1998 – the same year as India conducted its Pokhran II nuclear tests.
Pakistan has around 170 warheads – approximately the same as India.
As per Newsweek, experts say Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal could grow to 200 by 2025.
However, unlike India, Pakistan has no ‘no first-use policy’, which means it could resort to a nuclear strike if it feels cornered.
That India has an advantage over Pakistan when it comes to air warfare due to geography.
John Erath, senior policy director at the nonprofit Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, told Newsweek this is because Pakistan’s population centers are in reach of Indian aircraft and ballistic missiles.
“India and Pakistan have been regional rivals since they got their independence, so the the idea of border clashes and tension that could lead to military action is never not there,” Erath said. “It goes and it comes a little bit as to the seriousness. The last time we saw things like what are going on now was in 2019, when there were shots fired over the border and there was an Indian strike on a Pakistani facility that they said was training terrorists.
“I would take that as something of a model and expect that if the Indians feel that they have to take some kind of action in response to this massacre, they would do something like that—strike a Pakistani facility or what they believe is a training facility or one of these militant groups.”
Pakistan is definitely in an inferior position,” Erath added. “They have a smaller country, a smaller military, fewer resources, but they know what they’re up against and they they have ideas about how to stop it, including as a last resort the use of nuclear weapons.
“If one side or the other were to make a major military incursion, as we see in Ukraine, that sort of thing is very difficult to do. It requires tremendous logistics, tremendous resources and tremendous expense, and neither side really want to take that on unless they feel that they have no other option. The best that both sides and the rest of the world can do now is to urge restraint and look for what the off-ramp is going to be.”
Experts have also flagged Pakistan’s missile development as a menace – and not just to India.
Newsweek quoted ex-US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer as calling Pakistan an “emerging threat to the United States.”
Finer claimed Pakistan is pursuing “increasingly sophisticated missile technology” and large rocket motors that could eventually “strike targets well beyond South Asia, including the United States.”
As per ArmsControl.org, US officials have said Pakistan developing a long-range missle remains “several years to a decade” away.
The officials said that while Washington suggested Islamabad address its concerns by sharing information on missile testing and setting limits on the outer range, Pakistan rejected such notions.
Washington this year sanctioned commercial firms in Belarus, China, and Pakistan that “have supplied missile-applicable items to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program, including its long-range missile program.”
As per The Times of India, Islamabad slammed the sanctions as ‘discriminatory’ and called its missile programme ‘defensive in nature.’
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