Sharif

In this story

• Reactions
• Pakistan plans nuclear missile
• This time, U.S. intelligence knew
• Sanctions hurt Pakistan more than India
• Related stories/sites

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan responded to India's five recent nuclear tests with an equal number of its own detonations on Thursday and said it was ready to place a nuclear warhead in a newly tested long-range missile.

Sharif's speech after his country's tests 25 min. 15sec. VXtreme video

"We have settled the score," Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a nationally televised address. "I am thankful to God."

"We were never trying to get into a nuclear race," said Sharif. He blamed India for pushing Pakistan "into this position" and said Pakistan had to conduct the tests in order to protect itself.

The underground detonations in a remote western region of Pakistan occurred about 3:30 p.m. (1030 GMT/6:30 a.m. EDT) in the Chagai region of Pakistan's desolate southwestern Baluchistan province.

The site is barely 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the border with Iran and Afghanistan.

Reactions

The action was guaranteed to bring economic sanctions by the United States and other nations that had urged restraint by Pakistan after India carried out its five tests two weeks ago.

President Clinton, in a telephone call late Wednesday night, begged Sharif not to conduct nuclear tests and will now respond with sanctions, the White House said Thursday.

Clinton was "very disappointed" by Sharif's rebuff of his pleas, White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry told reporters.

The Bomb:Who has it? Who wants it? A cold war of words:Gauging the rhetoric exchanged between India, Pakistan TIME:Why the CIA didn't have a clue... Treaty Text: Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Background Special:India and Pakistan -- Fifty years of independence Message Board:Will India's testing prompt new arms race? Related Site: Federation of American Scientists Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

In his televised address, Sharif said sanctions would not be justified because Pakistan was only protecting itself from India's nuclear threat.

The news of the tests set off street celebrations in Islamabad, with joyful Pakistanis shooting their guns into the air.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said the Pakistan detonations showed that India was correct to conduct its own nuclear tests. India's nuclear policy has been "vindicated," Vajpayee told parliament in New Delhi.

Opposition lawmakers in New Delhi lept from their seats and accused the government of setting off a nuclear arms race on the subcontinent.

Pakistan plans nuclear missile

In announcing the explosions, Pakistan said it was giving nuclear muscle to the Ghauri missile, which it tested on April 6. The missile has a range of 900 miles (1,500 kilometers) making it capable of striking most parts of India.

"The long-range Ghauri missile is already being capped with the nuclear warheads to give a befitting reply to any misadventure by the enemy," a government statement said.

India has said it planned no more tests after the five it conducted on May 11 and May 13, so an immediate response in the form of more Indian tests was unlikely.

This time, U.S. intelligence knew

In Washington, a U.S. intelligence official said policy-makers were warned Wednesday night that tests were imminent and that the tests were confirmed by independent means, including seismic sensors.

"The fact that they did this comes as no surprise," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. India's tests caught U.S. intelligence off guard in what some members of Congress called a major spy lapse.

Sanctions hurt Pakistan more than India

Since it detonated its nuclear devices, India has been slapped with economic sanctions, most recently this week when the World Bank indefinitely postponed a decision on whether to extend more than $800 million in loans to the impoverished nation.

Pakistan, unlike India, is heavily dependent on international assistance and loans. Sanctions are bound to seriously hurt an economy already struggling to survive. Many economists fear that this country of 140 million people may be forced to default on its $800 million debt payment due at the end of June.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since the subcontinent gained independence from Britain in 1947 -- in 1948, 1965 and again in 1971.

Pakistan went ahead with the testing even after Australia offered Wednesday to double its aid to Pakistan next year if it refrained -- from $1.6 million to $3.1 million.

Message board:

• India and Pakistan nuclear tests

Special section:

• India and Pakistan

Related stories:

• U.S. sources: Pakistan edging closer to nuclear tests - May 27, 1998
• Pakistan: U.S. 'guessing' about imminent nuclear test - May 27, 1998
• India ready to discuss 'no first use' nuclear pact - May 27, 1998
• Pakistan: Nuclear test is not imminent - May 26, 1998
• Sources: Pakistan ready for nuclear test - May 26, 1998

Related sites:

• DAWN - Pakistan Newspaper
• Pakistan Television
• Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation - Radio Pakistan
• The Government of Pakistan - official site
• Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C.
• The Official Pakistan Page
• Indian Ministry of External Affairs
  • Press release: India conducts nuclear tests
• Bharat Rakshak - Consortium of Indian military websites
• The Indian Parliament
• The Times of India
• Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Site
• The Atomic Archive