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Pak all set to test-fire short-range missile, says US

The Pakistani military appears to be preparing to test-fire one of its short-range missiles, a move that could further undermine efforts to avert an arms race in South Asia, a senior Clinton administration official said.

"We do have evidence that they may be preparing a further missile test,'' the official said yesterday, speaking on condition he not be identified.

The missile set for a test launch is called the Tarmuk, which has a range of 400 to 600 kilometres, the official said. The missile, if test-launched, would be armed with a dummy warhead or no warhead. Still, the fear is that India would view the test as a provocation.

"It would be a further escalation'' of tensions between India and Pakistan, the official said.

The report of a possible Pakistani missile test came just hours after the world's five long-standing nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China -- met in Geneva, Switzerland and issued a joint declaration urging India and Pakistan to step back from the nuclear brink.

UNI

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