Pakistan test-fires nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan today test-launched a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, saying it was the first in a series of tests scheduled for the next few days.

India, Pakistan's archrival, was notified before the launch of the Hatf-III Ghaznavi missile. The missile is considered a short-range weapon with a range of 180 miles, but can hit key targets inside India.

"We have successfully test-fired the Hatf-III," said army spokesman Gen. Shaukat Sultan. The Indian government said it was informed beforehand of the test.

In New Delhi, Defense Minister George Fernandes said, "There is nothing special about it," Press Trust of India reported. "It has to be seen whether the missile is their own or provided by North Korea or China."

Sultan would not say where the test was conducted.

The missile test came with Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali in the middle of a visit to the United States, and two days after he met with President Bush at the White House. The two leaders reportedly discussed terrorism, the India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir and Washington's desire for Pakistan to contribute peacekeeping troops to Iraq.

India and Pakistan frequently have used missile tests as a form of diplomatic muscle-flexing.

Pakistan denied the test was linked to politics.

"The timings of the tests reflect Pakistan's determination not to engage in a tit-for-tat syndrome to other tests in the region," an army statement said. "Pakistan will maintain the pace of its own missile development program and conduct tests as per its technical needs."

Pakistan's last missile test came on March 26, when it fired off a short-range missile shortly after India announced a similar test.

In 1998, the two countries conducted tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests, shocking the world and earning years of sanctions.

Relations between Pakistan and India had appeared to be on the mend after Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said in April that he sought peace talks over matters including the flashpoint issue of the disputed territory of Kashmir.

But talks haven't gotten off the ground, and officials on both sides have resumed the name-calling and mudslinging that have so often characterized the two nations' relationship.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is split between them but claimed by both claim in its entirety.

They nearly came to blows again in 2002, each rushing hundreds of thousands of troops to the border before international mediation brought them back from the brink.

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