The firing of the Hatf V surface-to-surface missile, witnessed by Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali at an undisclosed location, was Pakistan's first such test since March.

India said it had received advance notice from Pakistan of Saturday's test but offered no immediate reaction.

"We have successfully test-fired today (the) nuclear-capable 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) range Hatf V missile," military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP.

A military statement later said the test was carried out as part of ongoing efforts to improve Pakistan's missile systems.

South Asia is seen as one of the world's most likely scenes for a nuclear confrontation, with Pakistan and India fighting three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.

The two countries carried out tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May 1998, sparking international condemnation.

Their bilateral relations have improved dramatically since April last year after a year-long military stand-off which was defused by US-led international diplomatic efforts.

Analysts said the timing of Saturday's test was significant because it came about a week after it was announced that talks between Pakistan and India on nuclear issues had been postponed at the request of the new Indian government.

New Delhi asked for the May 25-26 talks on nuclear confidence-building measures to be rescheduled because of the change of India's leadership. A Congress party-led government was sworn in last Saturday after a surprise win in general elections.

"It is interesting that this test has come after India postponed bilateral talks on nuclear and missile security issues," analyst Mohammad Afzal Niazi told AFP.

"Saturday's test sends a message that New Delhi should be talking about it," he said.

Japan voiced concern over the test but hoped it would not effect the peace process between Pakistan and India.

Tokyo also urged Islamabad to respond sincerely to international efforts for the non proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.

The prime minister told engineers and staff after the launch that Pakistan would do all it could to stay ahead of its "adversaries", the military statement said.

"The prime minister made it clear that Pakistan's edge over its adversaries in the strategic field will be maintained at all cost and his government will provide necessary resources to maintain the quality of the nation's deterrence."

Jamali added that maintaining the minimum deterrence needed to safeguard Pakistan's security, in view of its long history of hostility with India, was a cornerstone of the country's national security policy.

Pakistan's arsenal includes the Ghauri and Shaheen missiles which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads deep into Indian territory.

The March test, also successful, was for a new version of its Shaheen missile system with a range of 2,000 kilometers.

Analysts said the test was also to allay public fears the country's missile programme had ran into difficulties after nuclear hero Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan's downfall in February in a nuclear proliferation scandal.

"The Ghauri missile test is meant to show that Pakistan's nuclear missile programme is on course, alive and kicking despite Dr A Q Khan's episode," Riffat Hussain, who heads the Strategic Studies Department at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University, told AFP.

Pakistan is estimated to have 30-50 nuclear warheads, according to the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in the United States.

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