Pakistan test fires missile
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan has test fired a medium-range nuclear-capable missile for the second time in a week.
Islamabad informed New Delhi before it conducted what it described as a routine test on Friday, government and defense officials said.
The new version of the Ghauri V missile has a range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) and can hit most cities in northern India, Pakistan's nuclear-armed rival.
Pakistan successfully test fired the same model on May 28 and is expected to test its longest-range missile, called the Ghauri III, this month.
With a range of 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles), it could hit virtually any target in India.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf witnessed the test, carried out at an undisclosed location, and stressed the nation's nuclear weapons and missile program "was righty seen as the cornerstone of the nation's security policy," a military statement said.
Pakistan's nuclear program has been under the spotlight after top nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan admitted this year he sold secrets to a number of nations, including Iran, Libya and North Korea.
Last year, Pakistan and India conducted a series of missile tests, raising fears of a heightened arms race between the two South Asian rivals.
But since then tensions have eased between the nuclear neighbors, with the nations taking part in peace talks this year.
The momentum has gained new footing since the Congress party returned to power last month, and both nations are set to hold talks on June 19.
Separate talks are due to be held on June 27 to discuss the dispute over Kashmir, the divided Himalayan territory that has been the cause of two of three wars between India and Pakistan since independence from Britain in 1947.
In mid-2002 the two countries stood on the brink of a fourth war amid tensions over what India said was Pakistani support for Islamic militants carrying out terrorist attacks on Indian soil.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied the Indian charges, saying it only gives moral support to groups advocating the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination.
-- CNN Producer Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report
