Pakistan establishes new missile force after India conflict

  Pakistan will establish a new military force to supervise its missile capabilities, the prime minister has said, after its worst conflict in decades with South Asian arch-rival India. 

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced the formation of the Rocket Force Command while addressing an Independence Day ceremony in Islamabad attended by senior military officials late on Wednesday. 

"It will be equipped with modern technology and capable of striking the enemy from all directions," Sharif said at the ceremony, during which the deadly clash with India in May dominated official speeches and displays. 

"It will improve our conventional war capabilities," he said, commending the military for its performance. 

Pakistan and India fought an intense four-day conflict in May that killed more than 70 people on both sides in missile, drone and artillery fire, the worst clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours since 1999. 

Pakistan has sophisticated missile capabilities, some of which it deployed in May alongside J-10C Vigorous Dragon and JF-17 Thunder fighter jets. 

Islamabad is boosting its military capabilities following the conflict, increasing defence spending by 20 per cent in the current budget that was passed in June. 

The government also announced that it was in discussions to acquire 40 new Chinese fighter jets and new air defence systems.

"After the recent conflict, the object of course is to further strengthen Pakistan's military capability and this is a part of that process," defence analyst Talat Masood, a former general, told AFP. 

The May conflict was triggered by a deadly attack on tourists in India-administered Kashmir a month earlier that Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denied the allegation.

Agence France-Presse