US urges India, Pakistan to show nuclear restraint

Speaking at the State Department briefing, spokesman Richard Boucher ruled out any escalation in regional tensions because of the test by Pakistan on Friday.

He, however, said India and Pakistan should exercise restraint in their weapons and missiles programmes and resist deploying nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.

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Pakistan's test of the Hatf-III Ghaznavi missile -- rocket with a range of up to 290 km capable of hitting targets in India -- came as Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage left Washington on a visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

To a specific question on whether the US considered the test a "slightly provocative action" ahead of Armitage's talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Boucher said: "The missile that was tested, which was a Hatf-III short-range ballistic missile, it was the latest in a series of tests of this missile.

"I have to say initial public reactions are such that it doesn't seem to have heightened tensions in the region.

"But we have continued to urge both Pakistan and India to take steps to restrain their nuclear weapon and their missile programmes, including no operational deployment of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles."

PTI adds: Pakistan on Saturday dismissed as "ridiculous" India's offer that Islamabad join it in the fight against terrorism and accused New Delhi of unleashing an "apparatus of repression" in Kashmir.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan told reporters here that Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha's remarks made at India-Pak business forum in New Delhi on Friday suggesting Pakistan join fight against terrorism is "ridiculous."