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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Oct. 3) (AP) - Pakistan shot off a surface-to-surface, nuclear-capable rocket Friday in its first test in months, but it denied the launch had anything to do with stalled peace talks with India.
The army announced the early-morning launch of the short-range Hatf-3 Ghaznavi missile, and promised ''a series'' of tests in coming days. The missile can carry conventional and non-conventional weapons, and its range of 180 miles means it can hit several important targets in India.
''We have successfully test-fired the Hatf-3,'' said army spokesman Gen. Shaukat Sultan. He declined to say where exactly the test was conducted. The army later released a statement saying that India and other neighboring countries were informed before the test.
In New Delhi, Defense Ministry Spokesman Amitabh Chakravorty confirmed that his government had been notified.
Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes later said the test was ''nothing special,'' adding in comments to Press Trust of India: ''It has to be seen whether the missile is their own or provided by North Korea or China.''
The comments were an allusion to charges, denied by Pakistan, that it has exchanged nuclear and other weapons technology with North Korea. China is Pakistan's main supplier of military hardware, but the Hatf-3 is an indigenous Pakistani missile.
The test was the first by Pakistan since March 26, when it fired off a short-range missile shortly after India announced a similar launch.
A few weeks later, on April 18, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee raised hopes with a surprise call for peace with Pakistan, saying he was extending a ''hand of friendship'' to his bitter rival.
Pakistan had refrained from any missile tests since then, while the two countries resumed diplomatic ties and restored bus links. High-level political delegations have been sent off as well, and there was hope that the two sides would discuss Kashmir, the Himalayan region over which the countries have fought two of three wars since 1947.
But what began with such high expectations has slowly begun to crumble.
At last week's U.N. General Assembly, Indian and Pakistani leaders engaged in their most bitter public sparring in years.
Vajpayee accused Musharraf of admitting to backing Islamic separatists in Kashmir that India blames for a series of terrorist attacks, and India's U.N. ambassador, Vijay Nambiar, accused Pakistan of engaging in a ''diplomacy of abuse and hate.''
Vajpayee later acknowledged the ''peace process has suffered a setback,'' while Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan accused the Indian leader of being ''full of negativity.''
''Our president offered engagement,'' Khan said last week. ''Mr. Vajpayee offered estrangement and tensions.''
Still, Khan on Friday denied there was any link between the most recent test and the rapidly failing peace movement.
An army statement added: ''The timings of the tests reflect Pakistan's determination not to engage in a tit-for-tat syndrome to other tests in the region ... Pakistan will maintain the pace of its own missile development program and conduct tests as per its technical needs.''
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. The two leaders reportedly discussed terrorism, the Kashmir situation and Washington's desire for Pakistan to contribute peacekeeping troops to Iraq.
India and Pakistan have frequently used missile tests as a form of diplomatic muscle-flexing.
In 1998, both conducted nuclear weapons tests, shocking the world and earning years of sanctions.
India and Pakistan reached the brink of war in 2002, following an attack on the Indian Parliament by suspected Islamic militants. Each rushing hundreds of thousands of troops to the border before international mediation brought them back from the edge.
The army announced the early-morning launch of the short-range Hatf-3 Ghaznavi missile, and promised ''a series'' of tests in coming days. The missile can carry conventional and non-conventional weapons, and its range of 180 miles means it can hit several important targets in India.
''We have successfully test-fired the Hatf-3,'' said army spokesman Gen. Shaukat Sultan. He declined to say where exactly the test was conducted. The army later released a statement saying that India and other neighboring countries were informed before the test.
In New Delhi, Defense Ministry Spokesman Amitabh Chakravorty confirmed that his government had been notified.
Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes later said the test was ''nothing special,'' adding in comments to Press Trust of India: ''It has to be seen whether the missile is their own or provided by North Korea or China.''
The comments were an allusion to charges, denied by Pakistan, that it has exchanged nuclear and other weapons technology with North Korea. China is Pakistan's main supplier of military hardware, but the Hatf-3 is an indigenous Pakistani missile.
The test was the first by Pakistan since March 26, when it fired off a short-range missile shortly after India announced a similar launch.
A few weeks later, on April 18, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee raised hopes with a surprise call for peace with Pakistan, saying he was extending a ''hand of friendship'' to his bitter rival.
Pakistan had refrained from any missile tests since then, while the two countries resumed diplomatic ties and restored bus links. High-level political delegations have been sent off as well, and there was hope that the two sides would discuss Kashmir, the Himalayan region over which the countries have fought two of three wars since 1947.
But what began with such high expectations has slowly begun to crumble.
At last week's U.N. General Assembly, Indian and Pakistani leaders engaged in their most bitter public sparring in years.
Vajpayee accused Musharraf of admitting to backing Islamic separatists in Kashmir that India blames for a series of terrorist attacks, and India's U.N. ambassador, Vijay Nambiar, accused Pakistan of engaging in a ''diplomacy of abuse and hate.''
Vajpayee later acknowledged the ''peace process has suffered a setback,'' while Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan accused the Indian leader of being ''full of negativity.''
''Our president offered engagement,'' Khan said last week. ''Mr. Vajpayee offered estrangement and tensions.''
Still, Khan on Friday denied there was any link between the most recent test and the rapidly failing peace movement.
An army statement added: ''The timings of the tests reflect Pakistan's determination not to engage in a tit-for-tat syndrome to other tests in the region ... Pakistan will maintain the pace of its own missile development program and conduct tests as per its technical needs.''
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. The two leaders reportedly discussed terrorism, the Kashmir situation and Washington's desire for Pakistan to contribute peacekeeping troops to Iraq.
India and Pakistan have frequently used missile tests as a form of diplomatic muscle-flexing.
In 1998, both conducted nuclear weapons tests, shocking the world and earning years of sanctions.
India and Pakistan reached the brink of war in 2002, following an attack on the Indian Parliament by suspected Islamic militants. Each rushing hundreds of thousands of troops to the border before international mediation brought them back from the edge.