Islamabad: Pakistan on April 30 downplayed the Prithvi missile test by India saying it was "simply a reconfirmation" that missiles were now a reality in South Asia and called for clear and consistent measures to observe nuclear, missile and conventional arms restraint.

"This (the test firing) is simply a reconfirmation that missiles are now a reality in South Asia," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said in a statement.

"It comes in the wake of continuing reports about India's acquisition of missile technology from abroad," he said.

He said Pakistan wanted a "responsible attitude reflecting a clear consistent vision favouring measures for nuclear, missile and conventional arms restraint."

Khan said such measures were necessary for promoting peace and security between the two nuclear neighbours, an objective, which could only be advanced through "a comprehensive dialogue whose importance Pakistan had stressed time and again".

Asked whether India gave any advance notice to Pakistan about the test, he said that this came as a "pleasant surprise since only about a month ago when India conducted a similar test it did not notify Pakistan".

PTI