Pakistan on Saturday test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads and hitting targets within India.

The test-firing of the Shaheen-II or Hatf-VI surface-to-surface ballistic missile  the first missile test since Pakistan's new government assumed office last month was witnessed by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and Gen Tariq Majid, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

The Shaheen-II is Pakistan's longest range ballistic missile with a reach of 2,000 kms. It is a two-stage missile that can carry nuclear and conventional warheads with high accuracy, said a statement from the military.

'The launch was part of the process of validation and technical improvements to consolidate and verify various land-based strategic missile systems,' the statement said.

After the test-firing, Gillani said the country's strategic programme, "which enjoys complete national consensus, will continue to be consolidated and further strengthened in line with the needs of national security".

He made it clear that "Pakistan's strategy of credible minimum deterrence is fully in place and is a guarantee of peace in the region".

The Pakistan Prime Minister said the defence needs of the country will "remain a high priority with the elected government".

Gillani also congratulated the scientists and engineers of strategic organisations on achieving an "important milestone in Pakistan's quest for sustaining the strategic balance in South Asia".

In a message, President Pervez Musharraf [Images] too congratulated the strategic organisations on the successful testing of the missile.

The Shaheen-II was first tested in 2004. Pakistan conducted a series of missile tests between December 2007 and February in the run-up to the general election that was swept by Musharraf's opponents in the Pakistan People's Party and PML-N.