Pakistan tests missile // India takes news of volley in stride

Pakistan on Wednesday tested a new missile that could reachanywhere in India.

"The whole nation has reason to be proud," Pakistan PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif said.

The test of Pakistan's Ghauri II missile followed by three daysIndia's test of a new missile that can hit any target in Pakistan.Last year, both India and Pakistan - which have fought threewars in the last 52 years - tested nuclear weapons, sparkinginternational concern that another confrontation could escalate intoan all-out nuclear war.Both nations played down fears of a missile buildup."Pakistan does not want a nuclear and missile race in SouthAsia," the foreign ministry said after the test.India's Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh, said, "There is no armsrace in South Asia.""We all knew that our neighbor would also test their defensecapability after we tested ours," said George Fernandes, India'sdefense minister.The Pakistani Ghauri II was launched from Dina, 37 miles east ofthe capital, Islamabad, and it landed in the southwesternBaluchistan province, Sharif said.The longest-range missile in Pakistan's arsenal, with a range of1,240 miles, the Ghauri II can carry a payload of 2,200 pounds ofeither conventional or nuclear explosives, Sharif said.India's Agni missile has around the same range and payloadcapabilities. It also could reach targets in China, with which Indiafought a territorial war in 1962.The U.S. on Wednesday expressed regret over Pakistan's test,about which it was informed a day in advance.The Japanese foreign ministry said both countries' tests "couldbe detrimental to peace and stability in the region."Russia said Pakistan's missile test could "trigger a race ofnuclear missile armaments in Asia."