Foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said Pakistan had been informed in advance of the test-firing of the Agni device and that the two countries would hold talks on the subject soon.

"Pakistan does not favour an open-ended arms race in South Asia. We believe that a strategic restraint is in the interest of both nations," Khan said in a statment.

"We would hold further talks on this subject in the near future," he added.

Nuclear powers Pakistan and India, who have recently begun a rapprochment process after years of tension, frequently test ballistic missiles.

The latest firing comes a week ahead of peace talks in New Delhi between the foreign ministers over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

In June the neighbouring countries agreed to set up a hotline to prevent nuclear confrontation, to continue a ban on nuclear tests and to conclude an agreement on informing each other in advance about impending missile tests.

India and Pakistan held nuclear tests two weeks apart in May 1998 and have since come close to war twice in their dispute over Kashmir.

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