Pakistan Navy test fired a variety of anti-ship missiles in the North Arabian Sea on Saturday from surface vessels, and from fixed wing and rotary wing platforms. The navy, in a statement, said that Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi witnessed the missiles being fired.
This "successful demonstration of a missile firing is testament to the Pakistan Navy's operational capability and military readiness", the spokesperson said while emphasising that Navy Chief Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi said on the occasion that Pakistan Navy is fully capable of responding to enemy hostilities.
The video from the Pakistan Navy shows that a series of missiles were launched from a warship, multi-role helicopter and an aircraft which hit the target (a destroyer of British origin) on sea.
— Rishikesh Kumar (@rishhikesh) April 25, 2020
Earlier on Friday, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had asked the forces to ensure their "operational preparedness, while they are battling COVID-19" and that the adversary should not be allowed to exploit the current situation.
The Indian navy had also issued a separate statement on 18 April and stated that its naval assets continue to be mission-deployed in three dimensions, with all the networks and space assets functioning optimally.
"Our assets continue to remain on patrol covering a vast oceanic swath from the Straits of Malacca in the East to Bab-el-Mandeb in the West, including undertaking Op Sankalp to provide reassurance and protection to our merchant vessels and Anti-piracy patrols in Gulf of Aden," the Indian Navy said.
Despite the threat of COVID-19, the military forces of the two nuclear armed nations continue to target each other at the border and review their military preparedness at regular intervals.
The two South Asian nations have been at loggerheads since August 2019, when India stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status. Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of mistreating Kashmiris, something which New Delhi has consistently denied. Kashmir has remain bone of contention between the two nations for decades and fought three wars since they gained freedom from British colonial rule in 1947 over the issue.
