Here is a chronology of a missile race carried out against a background of tensions over the disputed Himalayan state of Kashmir and memories of three wars in 1947, 1965 and 1971.

1983: India begins missile development programme, stealing a march on Pakistan.

1998

April: Pakistan launches first version of surface-to-surface Ghauri missile with a range of around 1,500 kilometres (940 miles).

May: India and Pakistan shock the world with a series of tit-for-tat underground nuclear detonations, confirming their long-suspected entry into the exclusive nuclear club.

1999

February 20 and 21: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee makes the first visit by an Indian head of government to Pakistan in a decade, meeting then Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif in Lahore. Both men vow to reduce nuclear tensions.

April: India tests the nuclear-capable Agni II, which with a range of around 2,500 kilometres (1,560 miles) could hit anywhere in Pakistan and deep into China.

Pakistan retaliates with a test of its Ghauri II missile, with a range of 1,500 kilometres (940 miles), and its Shaheen missile (800 kilometres or 500 miles).

May 9 to July 12: Indian troops launch a massive offensive against Kashmiri militants they claimed had infiltrated the Kargil region of Kashmir from Pakistani territory. 1,000 people die in the fighting.

October 12: Military coup brings General Pervez Musharraf to power in Pakistan.

2000:

February 7: Pakistan test-fires a short-range Hatf I surface-to-surface ballistic missile reportedly able to reach targets up to 100 kilometresmiles) away.

November 19: India suspends military operations in Kashmir.

2001

July 15 and 16: Talks at Agra summit between Vajpayee and Musharraf stumble over Kashmir issue.

September 11: Terror attacks on New York and Washington lead to Pakistan joining the US-led war on terror in neighbouring Afghanistan and cracking down on Kashmiri separatist groups.

October 1: Suicide attack on parliament in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir. New Delhi accuses Islamabad of backsliding on anti-terror promises.

December 13: Attack on New Delhi parliament by suicidal gunmen kills 14. India accuses Pakistani intelligence services of masterminding the violence.

December 27: India imposes sanctions on Islamabad and announces army deploying within three days to Pakistani border. One million troops are now facing off on the border.

2002

January 12: In landmark speech, President Musharraf announces a crackdown on extremist organisations in Pakistan and bans five groups, including two blamed by India for the New Delhi parliament attack.

January 25: India test-fires intermediate Agni I missile with a range of 700 kilometres (440 miles). Islamabad warns test-firing increases regional instability but promises restraint.

April 28: India tests a supersonic cruise missile, known as Brahmos, jointly developed with Russia. The missile has a range of 300 kilometresmiles) and can carry a 200-kilogramme (440-pound) conventional warhead.

(In addition to the Agni (Fire) series, India has already inducted the Prithvi (Earth) missile, a more cumbersome, fixed-silo delivery system with a maximum range of just 250 kilometres (150 miles).

(It has also tested a Trident short-range surface-to-air missile.)

May 14: Militants attack a passenger bus and an army camp near Jammu, Indian Kashmir's winter capital, leaving 35 people dead and triggering a new crisis in relations between India and Pakistan.

May 22: Vajpayee tells front-line troops in Kashmir that the time has come for a "decisive fight" which he pledges "we will win".

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