Pakistan has decided to create a dedicated Army Rocket Force to oversee the deployment and use of its missile arsenal, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced at an Independence Day eve ceremony in Islamabad. Sharif said the unit, equipped with ‘modern technology’, will strengthen the army’s conventional combat capability and mark a new milestone in the country’s defence posture. A senior security official told Reuters the force will operate under its own command structure and focus on handling and deploying missiles during any conventional conflict. Defence analysts view the step as a response to India’s expanding missile programmes and a bid to deter future hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. The announcement comes less than three months after the most intense fighting with India in decades. The May clashes, triggered by an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, involved missiles, drones and air strikes and left more than 70 people dead before a U.S.-brokered cease-fire was reached. Independence Day messages from senior leaders echoed the tougher military stance. Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir pledged ‘no compromise on independence and sovereignty’, while President Asif Ali Zardari and Sharif urged national unity. From Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Pakistan, citing cooperation on counterterrorism, trade and potential investment in critical minerals and hydrocarbons.