Pak test fires Shaheen-II missile

Amidst a row over the supply of nuclear centrifuges to Iran by disgraced scientist A Q Khan, Pakistan on Saturday "successfully" test-fired its 2000 km nuclear-capable Shaheen-II missile.

The test-firing of the surface-to-surface ballistic missile, capable of hitting targets deep into the Indian territory, was witnessed by President Pervez Musharraf, who congratulated Pakistani scientists and said the country will not only retain its nuclear and missile capability but strive to improve

it.

Pakistan first test-fired the same missile, also named Hatf-VI, around the same time last year and flaunted it as a match to India's Agni-II.

India and several other countries in the region had been notified about the missile test in advance as per the existing practice, an official statement in Islamabad said.

The missile system incorporating an "advanced two-stage solid motor technology," can carry all types of conventional and nuclear warheads to a range of 2000 km, the statement added.