Islamabad, Pakistan – On the eve of Pakistan’s 78th Independence Day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the formation of a new Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) that he said would “have modern technology and capability to strike the enemy from every direction”.

“It will further enhance our conventional warfare capabilities,” Sharif said during an August 13 event in Islamabad.

“Enemy” in Pakistan is code for India, Pakistan’s nuclear-armed neighbour and rival, which a week later would test-fire its Agni-V intermediate-range ballistic missile, with a top range of 5,000km (3,100 miles).

Most analysts have dismissed any connection between the Agni testing, which took place from the integrated test range in India’s eastern state of Odisha off the Bay of Bengal, and the formation of th

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