Monday, July 10 2006 18:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Pakistan yesterday (July 9, 2006) said India had informed it in advance about the test-firing of its nuclear-capable intermediate range ballistic missile Agni-III, as part of a bilateral agreement.

"We have been informed of the test by India as part of agreement on the test-firing of missiles," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said when her reaction was sought on the test-firing of Agni-III, which is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 3,500 kms, from a range in the Bay of Bengal today.

She declined to say anything more.

Pakistani strategic analyst Asghar Ali Rizvi, however, claimed that the missile test was aimed at projecting India's ambitions to become a regional power and play a more pro-active role in the regional security.

The missile would bring most of the Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, into its range, she told the private Geo TV.

For Pakistan, she said, India had a specific set of missiles which were of short and medium ranges, but Agni-III could spur Islamabad to speed up its long-range Shaheen missile plans.

In April this year, Pakistan had test-fired its Shaheen missile which has a range of over 2,000 km and was reportedly working on Shaheen-III which could go beyond 3,000 kms.