"The timing of the test was coincidental," foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan told a weekly news briefing when asked wether the test firing of 1,500 kilometer (930 miles) range Hatf-V Ghauri missile was timed to send a message to the new Indian leadership.

"It was not intentional or deliberate in the sense that the test was conducted after the new government in Delhi took over and after the political transition in India," he said.

"This was a mere coincidence," Khan said. "The tests are only conducted to validate the technical parameters and India also does the same from time to time."

The test will not have any impact on the ongoing peace process, he said adding that "Pakistan does not threaten any country with these tests".

The missile test came a week after Manmohan Singh was sworn in as India's first non-Hindu prime minister after the surprise defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party of former premier Atal Behari Vajpayee.

WAR.WIRE