The ballistic missile can carry nuclear warheads with a range of 1,500 kilometers (AFP)

Additional Reporting By Asif Farooqi, IOL Correspondent

ISAMABAD, JUNE 4 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Pakistan conducted its second test of a nuclear-capable missile Friday, June 4, as President Pervez Musharraf insisted this is meant to silence domestic critics rather than send signals abroad.

The ballistic missile Hatf V, which can carry nuclear warheads with a range of 1,500 kilometers (930 miles), was successfully test fired, the military said. It did not reveal the location or exact time of the test.

General Musharraf, who witnessed the test firing, said it was, "not intended to send any political signals outside the country but was necessary for the validation of technical parameters," according to the statement.

However, he did want some of the traditional domestic cynics to take note that under his stewardship, the nuclear program had gone from strength to strength and had been consolidated to a point where its forward direction was clearly defined and irreversible.

The Hatf V is part of a series of Ghauri missiles, which are believed to be based on North Korea 's Nodong missile, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

They were developed by Pakistan 's premier nuclear facility Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), which was founded and named after the disgraced architect of Pakistan 's atomic bomb Abdul Qadeer Khan.

IslamOnline.net correspondent said that General Sultan declared the test was rather meant for engineers to varify some other desing parameters of the missile.

"All the required design parameters were met hundred per cent," Sultan said.

Sultan said the missile flew for 900 kilometers before it hit the target with accuracy. He said the missile can carry all types of nuclear and conventional payloads.

These tests dispel the impression being spread by the opposition that the strategic assets are at risk of "roll-back" as a result of investigations against Dr Khan," a senior government official said.

The intermediate Hatf V was also tested on May 29, just a week after New Delhi 's new government was sworn in. The test triggered accusations from India 's new Congress-led government that Pakistan was provoking a nuclear arms race.

Domestic critics had expressed fears that the government may be forced by international pressure to scale back its nuclear arsenal after Khan confessed publicly in February to selling nuclear secrets to Libya , Iran and North Korea .

His revelations opened up what has been described as the world's worst ever nuclear proliferation scandal.

More Tests

Pakistan 's military, however, suggested there were more tests to come, saying the latest test was "part of a series of tests planned for the Ghauri missile system".

India and other neighbors had been notified of the test beforehand, it added.

Pakistan and the new Indian government have vowed to carry forward a 14-month old peace process initiated by the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. They are scheduled to hold their first talks later in June.

Experts will meet in New Delhi on June 19-20 for talks on nuclear confidence building measures. Foreign secretaries will then meet on June 27-28, also in New Delhi , to discuss the Kashmir dispute and security issues.

Nuclear experts estimate Pakistan, which went public as a nuclear power when it conducted nuclear tests in May 1998 in response to tests by India the same month, has an arsenal of 30 to 60 nuclear warheads.

Islamabad says its nuclear program is deterrent-based.

India this week floated the idea of tripartite discussions between Islamabad , New Delhi and Beijing to evolve a common nuclear doctrine. Pakistan has said it would examine the proposal.

A cross section of the Pakistani society cautiously welcomed the political change in India after the defeat of the ruling party in the parliamentary elections, expecting an impact on the pace of Indo-Pak rapprochement.

Vajepyee had added a new dimension to Pak-India relations last year when he offered "a hand of friendship" to the arch rival followed by steps to build confidence.

Pakistan and India had fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of  Kashmir .

Their armies routinely exchange fire along the 750 kilometer (465 miles) Line of Control, which divides  Kashmir between both countries, and their 230 kilometer (143 mile) international border.

On May 2, 2003 , they restored full diplomatic ties to settle half a century of disputes "for the economic and social betterment of their peoples.

Pakistan and India are likely to sign a formal bilateral agreement to ban nuclear tests in the subcontinent, according to a source in the Pakistani foreign office.