Missile Tests traded in Kashmir by The Times, AP The Australian 1:38pm 28th Mar, 2003   March 28, 2003    Missile tests traded in Kashmir (From The Times, AP)    INDIA and Pakistan traded missile tests and heavy artillery fire yesterday, raising tensions in the region in a continuation of their decades-old conflict.    Hours after India said that it had test-fired its most sophisticated short-range missile, Pakistan responded with a similar test. India's Defence Ministry said a surface-to-surface Pirthvi missile with a range of 150km was launched from the Chandipur test site in Orissa state, about 1200km southeast of New Delhi. The missile can carry conventional and nuclear warheads of up to 1 tonne.    Within hours of the missile test India had also accused Pakistan of being involved in the murders of 24 Hindus – including 11 women and children – earlier this week in the disputed Himalayan province of Kashmir. The two countries also exchanged heavy artillery across the ceasefire line. Pakistan condemned the massacre and called for an independent inquiry.    Pakistan said it was surprised by India's missile test which came without warning, but reacted by announcing its own test-fire of an Abadali missile that can hit targets up to 240km inside India. "Pakistan has also test-fired a missile, but we informed India about it," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said.    Analysts in Pakistan said they feared New Delhi might be trying to take advantage of the US-led war in Iraq to try to increase tension over Kashmir.    "There is always the danger that India will try something while the United States' attention is on Iraq. We would be foolish not to be wary," Shireen Mazari, head of Pakistan's Institute of Strategic Study, said after the tests.    Indian Defence Ministry spokesman Baljit Singh Menon said it was a routine test to improve the version of the Prithvi that would be used by the army, and described the launch as a "user's trial".    The latest test came amid reports of renewed clashes between the rival forces along the Line of Control in Kashmir. Pakistani and Indian troops traded heavy artillery and mortar fire, wounding five Pakistani civilians. There were no reports of casualties on the Indian side.    Tension has increased after this week's massacre of 24 Hindus in the Indian-controlled region by suspected Islamic militants. India accused Pakistan of sponsoring the attacks, in which police, survivors and witnesses said the victims were shot at close range.    The two countries became nuclear powers when they conducted a series of missile tests in May 1998. Both have since developed sophisticated systems and have a wide range of medium and short-range nuclear missiles capable of destroying each other's main cities.    Senior Indian leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, arrived in Ahmedabad yesterday to pay tribute to former Gujarat home minister and Hindu nationalist figure Haren Pandiya, who was gunned down by unidentified attackers on Wednesday.    The politician's murder has sparked a security alert throughout the state, which was ravaged by communal rioting last year between Hindus and Muslims.
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