Pakistan test fires ballistic missile as tensions with India spike after Kashmir gun massacre

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan test fired a ballistic missile Saturday as tensions with India spiked over last month's deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region.

The surface-to-surface missile has a range of 450 kilometers (about 280 miles), the Pakistani military said. There was no immediate comment about the launch from India, which blames Pakistan for the April 22 gun massacre in the resort town of Pahalgam, a charge Pakistan denies.

Pakistan's military said the launch of the Abdali Weapon System was aimed at ensuring the “operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters,” including the missile’s advanced navigation system and enhanced maneuverability features.

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated those behind the successful test. Missiles are not fired toward the border area with India; they are normally fired into the Arabian Sea or the deserts of southwest Balochistan province.

Islamabad-based security analyst Syed Muhammad Ali said Saturday's missile was named after a prominent Muslim conqueror of India, underlining its symbolic significance.

“The timing of this launch is critical in the current geopolitical context,” Ali told The Associated Press. He said the test was intended as a strategic signal to India after it had threatened to suspend a crucial water-sharing treaty.

India's navy said on April 27 that its vessels had successfully undertaken anti-ship firings to “revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long-range precision offensive strike.”

Ashok Malik, a former policy adviser in India's Foreign Ministry, said there was anger across the country following the gun attack. The 26 victims came from 13 different states.

“Internationally, there is enormous sympathy for India and little patience with Pakistan," said Malik. "I don’t believe anybody in India wants a full-fledged war. Even so, there is domestic pressure and diplomatic space for a sharp, targeted, and limited response.”

The ongoing “muscle flexing” by both countries' troops was reflective of the tense mood and also apparent in the “unremitting hostilities” on the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing Kashmir, he said.

Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety.

They have fought two of their three wars over the stunning Himalayan region and their ties have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, mostly due to their competing claims over Kashmir.

The latest flare-up led the two countries to expel each other’s diplomats and nationals, as well as the shuttering of airspace.

On Saturday, India suspended the exchange of all mail from Pakistan through air and surface routes and slapped an immediate ban on the direct and indirect import of all goods from its neighbor.

India has also banned Pakistani-flagged ships from entering its ports and prohibited Indian-flagged vessels from visiting Pakistani ports.

India's military said Saturday that Pakistani troops had fired at positions across the border for a ninth consecutive night. The statement called the firing unprovoked and said Indian troops “responded promptly and proportionately.”

Pakistan did not confirm the exchange of fire at the Line of Control.

The incident could not be independently verified. In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes.

Passions ran high among the Pakistanis who traveled to the Wagah crossing with India to see the famous flag-lowering ceremony.

The spectacle involves Pakistan’s Rangers and India’s border Security Force in a dramatic parade on either side of the crossing, with just a gate between them, their high kicks stretching skyward.

Shoaib-ur-Rehman said no other experience stirred such powerful feelings of patriotism in him and that he witnessed “extraordinary emotions” during Saturday’s ceremony.

Rehman expressed his opposition to a war with India, but said he would fight alongside Pakistan’s military if one broke out.

Sundas Batool wanted India to provide evidence about Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam attack.

“The other side must have seen our energy, our spirit,” said Batool, referring to the crowds on the other side of the border. “My message to India is: We are ready for anything.”

Associated Press writers Aijaz Hussain, Rajesh Roy, and Babar Dogar contributed to this report from Srinigar, India; New Delhi, and Wagah, Pakistan.

Pakistan's Rangers soldiers gesture during a daily closing ceremony at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Rangers soldiers, left, and Indian Border Security Forces soldiers, behind the gate, gesture to each other during a daily closing ceremony at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Rangers soldiers, in black, and Indian Border Security Forces soldiers, lower their flags during a daily closing ceremony at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Rangers soldier, in black, and Indian Border Security Forces soldier, gesture to each other during a daily closing ceremony at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Rangers soldiers march during a daily closing ceremony at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's folk dancers perform with national flag during a daily closing ceremony at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

People gather near the closed gates for selfie after a daily closing ceremony by Pakistan's Rangers and Indian Border Security Forces soldiers, at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's paramilitary soldier, left, and Indian Border Security Forces soldier, right, stand guard on their sides, during a daily closing ceremony at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Rangers soldiers gesture during a daily closing ceremony at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan's Rangers soldiers, in black, and Indian Border Security Forces soldiers, lower their flags during a daily closing ceremony at the Wagah, a joint post on the Pakistan and India border, near Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

FILE - Indian security officers inspect the site a day after where militants indiscriminately opened fire at tourists in Pahalgam, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (AP Photo, File)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)