Pakistan continues tests

Associated Press

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan test-fired a second missile capable of reaching neighboring India, as world leaders tried Sunday to contain the rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries.

India has downplayed the missile tests, but Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee renewed his concern about terrorist attacks from Pakistan-based fighters, saying “the infiltration of militants into India has to end.”

In Paris, President Bush said the United States had expressed to Pakistan its concerns about the tests. But he said he is more interested in seeing Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf take action to prevent attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir, where Indian soldiers and civilians have been killed.

“Stopping terrorism. That is more important than the missile testing,” Bush said Sunday after meeting with French President Jacques Chirac.

Pakistani officials said the military conducted the first-ever trial of a new short-range missile, the Hatf-III or Ghaznavi. With a range of 175 miles, it could reach India’s border regions, where hundreds of thousands of soldiers face Pakistani troops in a standoff.

The launch came despite international pleas for the two countries to ease tensions and followed what Pakistan said was the successful test-firing Saturday of a Ghauri missile with a range of 900 miles, far enough to reach deep into India.

Both missiles are capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads. Fear of a major conflict between India and Pakistan is heightened because both have developed nuclear weapons since their last war, in 1971.

Pakistan says the series of missile tests ending Tuesday have nothing to do with tensions with India. India says it was informed of plans for the tests and, while “not impressed” with the timing, is not concerned about them.

Indian and Pakistani soldiers have been exchanging small-arms fire for more than two weeks – leaving dozens of villagers dead. Indian police said Sunday that five civilians were killed and four others were wounded on the Indian side of the frontier overnight.