Calling the tests a calculated move to precipitate an arms race and fuel hostilities, the security officials underlined that Pakistan already has the Nasr (Hatf-IX) missile — a nuclear-tipped short-range missile intended to effectively erase India s first-strike capability.

As per the Press Information Bureau (PIB), India s Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two successive tests of the Pralay missile on July 28 and 29 as part of "User Evaluation Trials" to check both its maximum and minimum range capabilities.

The Pralay is a solid-fuelled, quasi-ballistic, surface-to-surface missile with the ability to carry more than one type of warhead. It will be part of India s yet-to-be-created Integrated Rocket Force (IRF), still under construction, and will operate independently of the tri-service Strategic Forces Command (SFC), reports Times of India.

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Security experts in Pakistan report that the missile tests need to be seen in the light of recent escalated tensions between the two nations. Amid that context this missile testing is an effort to sabotage regional stability.

Weeks before, Pakistan had carried out Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos in reaction to India s cross-border attacks, attacking several Indian military bases and shooting down several fighter aircraft.

The most recent clash came after a fatal episode in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) Pahalgam region, where 26 tourists were killed in an attack. India promptly accused Pakistan for this attack which Islamabad strongly refuted.