Pakistan on Wednesday conducted a training launch of a short-range, surface-to-surface ballistic missile NASR. Pakistan military chief General Qamar Bajwa used the launch to target India’s 'cold start doctrine' by saying NASR has "put cold water on cold start."

A statement by the military said training launches and tests / trials were conducted during the current week for validation of new technical parameters of 'NASR' such as enhanced range from 60 km to 70 km and flight maneuverability. “This weapon system will augment credible deterrence against prevailing threat spectrum more effectively, including anti-missile defenses. NASR is a high precision weapon system with the ability of quick deployments,” the statement said.

Army chief General Qamar Bajwa appreciated the standard of training and operational preparedness of the Army Strategic Force and congratulated the scientists and engineers on achieving this significant milestone towards Pakistan's credible deterrence capability. He expressed his complete confidence in effective command, control, safety and security of all strategic assets and measures being taken to augment these. "You are our real heroes, the unseen, we owe you our gratitude. NASR has put cold water on cold start," General Bajwa said.

He said that war must be avoided at all cost but strategic capability is a guarantee of peace against a “highly militarised and increasingly belligerent neighbor.” "Pakistan will go to any length to ensure regional peace and stability. We wholeheartedly support all government efforts at peace through dialogue. Our capability is only meant to ensure no one thinks war remains an option,” he said.

President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lauded the efforts of all those involved in the missile tests and trials.

What is Cold Start?

Here is an explanation from the article "Taking ‘Cold Start’ out of the freezer?" published by The Hindu.

"At heart, it is part of the army’s attempt to develop a useable, conventional retaliatory option that punishes Pakistan for terrorist attacks against India without triggering wider conventional or nuclear escalation. In its more aggressive formulations, it was believed the aim was to create division-sized formations that could rapidly mobilise and carry out short-notice, retaliatory offensives of limited duration to quickly seize and hold Pakistani territory, while simultaneously pursuing narrow enough objectives to deny Islamabad a justification to escalate the conflict by opening additional conventional fronts or to employ nuclear weapons."