Hatf-V (Ghauri) test: Metal debris all part of plan

Spokesperson says metal detached from missile’s motor body as anticipated.

RAWALPINDI:

The military confirmed on Friday that the metal parts found in a remote part of Dadu district of Sindh belonged to Hatf-V (Ghauri), a missile that was test-fired on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the test was a complete success and that the metal parts were part of the motor body, which separated from the missile as planned, well within the safety corridor.

The missile remained within its intended flight path and corridor throughout, the spokesperson added. He said that at no point were human lives or property at risk, and that there was no cause for alarm or concern.

Army swoops down on Dadu

Earlier in the day, the military collected some of the last parts of the missile’s debris, which had fallen over Abu Bakar Brohi village on the confluence of Sindh-Balochistan border.

However, residents of some of the villages who had earlier claimed to have collected some parts weighing around two kg could not produce them when they were approached by the army, a police official said.

The largest part of the missile, which reportedly weighed around 180kg, had fallen in Pir Mashaikh village. “Some media outlets reported it had fallen over an inhabited area and that a major accident was avoided. But this is not true,” a villager told The Express Tribune. 

Abdul Nadeem Brohi, a resident of Garo Jabal village, said, “We were ploughing our land when some of us saw a heavy iron piece blazing down from the sky.”

(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY OUR CORRESPONDENT IN DADU)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2012.