Islamabad , Pakistan ( CNN ) -- Pakistan said Wednesday that it had conducted a test launch of a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead , just days after its arch-rival India tested a longer-range missile . The Pakistani military said in a statement that the launch of the improved version of the Shaheen-1 missile was successful and that its impact point was at sea . The new version of the missile `` will further consolidate and strengthen Pakistan 's deterrence abilities , '' the statement said , citing Lt. Gen. Khalid Ahmed Kidwai , head of the military 's Strategic Plans Division . India said last week that it had successfully carried out the maiden test flight of its longest-range nuclear-capable missile , which can apparently travel more than 5,000 kilometers ( 3,100 miles ) . The Pakistani military 's statement did not give details on the range of the missile that it fired Wednesday . The Shaheen-1 missile that it tested in 2010 was able to hit a target about 650 kilometers ( 403 miles ) away . There have been positive signs in the relationship between Islamabad and New Delhi recently . President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India during a private trip to India earlier this month . It was the first visit to India by a Pakistani head of state in seven years , and Singh said at the time that he would be willing to make a reciprocal trip to Pakistan in the future . But distrust remains deep between the two nations . The South Asian neighbors have fought three wars , two of them over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir , since the 1947 partition of the subcontinent into Islamic Pakistan and Hindu-majority , secular India after independence from Britain . Last year , both countries pledged not to let their fragile peace process unravel again over the range of thorny issues that put them at odds . In 2004 , they agreed to negotiations that cover eight issues , including Kashmir , terrorism and Pakistan 's concerns over river dams on the Indian side of the border , which it sees as a threat to its water supplies . After that , successive governments held talks in an effort to end the historical acrimony . But engagements were suspended in November 2008 after the terrorist assault on Mumbai , which left more than 160 people dead . India said Pakistani-based groups were behind that attack . Over the past two years , India and Pakistan have held a series of high-level meetings in their bid to put their peace dialogue back on track , a process considered crucial to regional stability ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan . In 2011 , New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to resume talks . The two nations ' possession of nuclear weapons adds a worrying dimension to the tensions between them . The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War on Wednesday laid out a hypothetical scenario of what a nuclear conflict between two countries like India and Pakistan would mean for the world . `` A limited regional nuclear weapons exchange '' between two such countries `` would cause major worldwide climate disruption , driving down food production in China , the U.S. and other nations , '' the physicians group said in a statement previewing a new report on the subject . That scenario would leave more than one billion people around the world facing starvation , according to the group , which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 . CNN 's Shaan Khan and Aliza Kassim contributed to this report .
India carried out a test flight of a long - range nuclear - capable missile last week . Pakistan says it has launched a new version of a medium - range missile into the sea . The test will strengthen the country 's ` ` deterrence capabilities , '' the Pakistani government says . There have been positive signs in relations between Pakistan and New Delhi recently .