Shortly before 11:00 am (0500 GMT) Pakistan announced it had test-fired a the home-grown Hatf-IV or Shaheen missile, a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead deep into Indian territory.

Some six hours later at 4:30 pm Indian time (1100 GMT), India tested an Akash surface-to-air missile from a remote testing range on the country's east coast.

Both governments called their respective tests "routine."

"User trials have been taking place," Indian defence ministry spokesman P.K. Bandopadhyay told AFP.

Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan said the Shaheen test had no connection to the dispute with India.

"Countries which have missiles keep testing them for technical data," he told AFP.

The test of the Shaheen missile, with a range of up to 800 kilometresmiles), is Pakistan's fourth missile test since May, when it test-fired three missiles whilst on the brink of war with India.

Friday's test, the second of a Shaheen since April 1999, comes amid renewed tensions between the South Asian arch-rivals over a spate of killings blamed on Pakistani-based militants during elections in the Indian-run half of Kashmir.

A defence ministry spokesman told AFP "neighbours as well as some friendly countries" were informed in advance. The missile was launched just six days before Pakistan's first parliamentary elections under military ruler President Pervez Musharraf's three-year regime.

Politial analyst Mohammad Afzal Niazi said the test was a play for domestic support ahead of the polls.

"It is perhaps not without significance that the test has come six days before an election in which the opposition is accusing the president of buckling under American and Indian pressure over Afghanistan and Kashmir," he said.

"It plays to the gallery at home."

India branded it an "election gimmick."

Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told a press conference in New Delhi that Musharraf had "timed" the missile test to try and shore up his popularity before the vote.

"The Pakistan missile test is nothing but an election gimmick -- an antic or performance put on to sway voters," said Sibal.

Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes told AFP that New Delhi was not perturbed.

"It is a routine test. It need not worry us. They have their missiles and they are testing them. We have our missiles and we also do tests. We do not see a reason why we should be worried," said Fernandes.

On September 24 India tested its most sophisticated a short-range missile, a Trident (Trishul) which can carry a 15 kilogramme (33 pound) nuclear or conventional warhead and can fly nine kilometers (5.5 miles).

Ayaz Ahmed, a senior Pakistani defence analyst, interpreted Pakistan's latest test as a message to India "not to indulge in any misadventure."

"It will deter India from carrying out a nuclear or conventional attack."

Tensions between Pakistan and India have been on a knife edge since last December, when a deadly attack on India's parliament was blamed on the Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

The arch-rivals have had around a million troops deployed eyeball to eyeball across their common border ever since.

A resurgence of bloody attacks, blamed on Islamic militants, during legislative elections in Kashmir has seen Indian leaders renew heated accusations against Pakistan of backing the militants.

In May, when Kashmir tensions hit a flashpoint, Pakistan test fired three missiles in quick succession, including two short-range missiles named Abdali and Hatf III (Ghaznavi), which can respectively travel 180 to 290 kilometres (110 to 180 miles). The Ghaznavi is capable of great accuracy.

It also fired the medium-range Hatf-V (Ghauri II) missile, which can fly up to 1,500 kilometres (940 miles) and strike deep inside India.

Abdali, Ghaznavi and Ghauri were the names of Muslim conquerors of Hindus in the sub-continent over the past nine centuries.

On June 21 India twice test-fired a home-grown heat-seeking anti-tank missile from its eastern coast. Officials said the tests were routine.

India and Pakistan both carried out tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May of

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