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BIN JAWWAD - The Associated Press

Pakistan said yesterday it had successfully test fired a short-range ballistic missile capable of carrying atomic warheads.

 The Hatf II (Abdali) has a range of 180 kilometers and carries nuclear as well as conventional warheads with “high accuracy,” the military said in a statement. “It provides an operational level capability to Pakistan’s strategic forces, additional to the strategic and tactical level capability which Pakistan already possesses,” the statement said. South Asian rivals India and Pakistan -- which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 -- have routinely carried out missile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.

Pakistan’s arsenal includes short, medium- and long-range missiles named after Muslim conquerors. The neighbors were on the brink of nuclear conflict in 2002 over the disputed territory of Kashmir, but a peace dialogue resumed last March. Meanwhile, a suicide attack targeting police in northwest Pakistan late March 4 wounded five officers and badly damaged a vehicle, officials said.