Pakistan conducted its second missile test in two days Sunday and India said it was running out of patience over attacks by Islamic militants it accuses its nuclear-capable rival of supporting. But both sides, under intense international pressure to avert a war, appeared to leave the door open at least to trying to find a solution to their latest stand-off.

In Islamabad, a government spokesman said President Pervez Musharraf would address the nation Monday, raising hopes of a landmark speech which could help reduce tensions with India.

And Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said India would wait to see whether international efforts to persuade Pakistan to crack down on Islamic militants bore fruit.

Analysts see a small window of opportunity, perhaps lasting for two weeks, perhaps two months, to prevent war between the two countries, which have mobilised a million men on their border. (Read photo caption)

The United States and Russia had asked Pakistan to stop the tests that began Saturday with the launch of a medium-range Ghauri missile which some experts believe is capable of firing nuclear warheads at Indian cities.

Pakistan said the tests would continue until Tuesday.

The neighbors have been trading heavy fire on the border for more than a week and 16 civilians on both sides were killed in weekend clashes, officials said. Thousands of civilians have fled front-line villages.

The missile tested Sunday was capable of carrying warheads accurately up to a range of 290 km (180 miles), a Pakistan military statement said. "The flight data collected indicated that all design parameters have been successfully validated.."
Saturday, Pakistan tested the Ghauri missile, which has a range of up to 1,500 km (940 miles)

PHOTO CAPTION

An Indian paramilitary policeman stands guard on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar, the main city in Kashmir, May 25, 2002. Pakistan on Saturday test fired a medium-range missile capable of dropping nuclear warheads on the main cities of rival India in what some analysts saw as a defiant gesture likely to stoke tensions. Pakistani President and military leader Gen. Pervez Musharraf said the test was successful. (Jayanta Shaw/Reuters)