Pakistan today conducted the first in a series of missile tests today amid growing fears of a war with India that could result in the use of nuclear weapons in
South Asia - home to more than 1.2 billion people.
"We don't want war, but we are ready for war," Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf said after the test.
The medium-range Ghauri missile flew 900 miles - far enough to reach deep into India. It can carry both a conventional and nuclear warhead.
"[The missile] showed total accuracy. It hit the target," Gen Musharraf said at a religious gathering to mark the birthday of Mohammed.
The international community, meanwhile, scrambled to avert a war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would invite the leaders of India and Pakistan to Kazakhstan for talks early next month to try to prevent their conflict from escalating.
Amid the mounting tensions, Indian and Pakistani troops shelled each other's positions after a fierce gun battle overnight killed at least three suspected Islamic militants and two Indian soldiers in troubled Kashmir.
The soldiers attacked a village hide-out of suspected Islamic guerillas late yesterday. In an exchange of gunfire, three rebels, an army soldier and a policeman were killed, said army spokesman Major Animesh Trivedi.
Pakistan's first major missile test since April 1999 came with both India and Pakistan on a war footing. They have massed about one million troops at their border, and tensions in the disputed Himalayan state of Kashmir are at a peak.
"[The test] demonstrates Pakistan's determination to defend itself," the Pakistani army said in a statement. However, it said the tests were routine, "concerning technical matters."
Both India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in 1998, and say they have added nuclear weapons to their arsenal. It's not known with certainty how many each country has, but both possess missiles capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.
"The government of India is not particularly impressed by these missile antics, clearly targeted at the domestic audience in Pakistan," Indian foreign ministry spokeswoman Ms Nirupama Rao said, adding that the tests were routine "and not central to the current situation".
Both Pakistan and India claim a united Kashmir - the flashpoint of two previous wars between the uneasy neighbours. Tensions eased slightly after Gen Musharraf banned five militant Islamic groups in January.
Then last week an army camp in Indian-controlled Kashmir was attacked killing 34 people - mostly soldiers' wives and children. India again blamed Pakistan-based Islamic militants and fresh threats of war emerged.
AP