HIGHLIGHTS: Pakistan Fires the Last In a Series of Missile Tests Tuesday||India Won't Use Nuclear Weapons First, Singh ||Pakistan Wouldn't Rule Use of Nuclear Weapons First in Case of Conventional Attack||There're Limits to What International Diplomacy Can Do||STORY: India said on Tuesday Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's latest speech on the countries' military standoff over Kashmir was disappointing and dangerous and had stoked tensions rather than eased them. (Read photo caption)

Pakistan fired the last in a series of missile tests on Tuesday, just hours after Musharraf had said Pakistan did not want war but was ready to respond "with full might" if attacked.

Indian External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, in India's first official response to Musharraf's speech late Monday, accused the Pakistani military leader of "belligerent posturing."

"(Musharraf's speech) ... is both disappointing and dangerous," Singh told a news conference.

"Disappointing as it merely repeats some earlier assurances that remain unfulfilled until today, and dangerous because through belligerent posturing tension has been added to, not reduced."

But Singh said India was sticking to its policy of not using nuclear weapons first.

Pakistan has declined to rule out first use of nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack.

India says its patience with Pakistan is running out after an attack on its parliament in December and another attack on an army base in disputed Kashmir on May 14 which it blames on Pakistan-backed militants.

But it has been sending conflicting signals since Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told his troops last week to prepare for a "decisive fight," but then told a news conference he saw clear skies rather than war clouds.

Musharraf's speech also sent conflicting messages for different audiences, balancing a hawkish condemnation of Indian "atrocities" in Kashmir with a repeat of an appeal for dialogue.

Analysts say much of the rhetoric from both sides -- as well as the Pakistani missile tests -- is saber-rattling by leaders aimed at satisfying domestic hawks and shoring up their shaky political bases.

But fears have risen that with a million troops facing each other on the border, another strike by Muslim militants in India could push the two countries toward a war neither side wants.

Both sides again traded artillery and mortar fire on Tuesday, with Pakistani officials saying Indian shelling had killed two men and wounded five people

Tuesday, the main stock market indices in both countries fell by more than two percent as fears grew that Musharraf's speech would ratchet up the tension once again.

CLEAR MESSAGE

Although Pakistan has insisted its missile tests were routine, observers say they were clearly aimed at sending a message that Islamabad could meet any Indian attack with massive retaliation. Pakistan said in its final test it had successfully fired a 180-km (110-mile) range missile.

Musharraf said Monday he wanted peace with honor, adding that neither side would win an easy victory in a war.

INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY

Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was in Islamabad for talks on the tension that has pushed South Asia to the brink of war as Pakistan fired a short-range missile, its third test in four days.

In comments to Reuters before leaving for Pakistan, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw said there was an urgent need to resolve tension to avoid a nuclear conflict, but he admitted his mission would be difficult.

"There are clear limits to external diplomacy, so I am under no illusions about what I may or may not be able to do," he said.
He was meeting Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar and was due to meet Musharraf later Tuesday.

The United States -- which sees Musharraf as a key ally in its war on terror and in its campaign against the al Qaeda network in Afghanistan -- has also urged restraint on both sides.

EXCERPTS FROM MUSHARRAF SPEECH
These are accessable at the [IN THE PRESS] channel found on Islamweb's English Home page. Visit channel if you will.

PHOTO CAPTION

Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf gives a televised address to the nation in Islamabad May 27, 2002. Musharraf said nuclear-capable Pakistan did not want war with India, but was ready to respond with full force if Indian forces attacked. Photo by Reuters (Handout)