Pakistan tests missile, India orders drills amid Kashmir standoff

Pakistan carried out a second missile test in three days on Monday and India said it ordered several states to conduct security drills, as fears mounted the neighbours could be heading to a confrontation over a deadly attack in Kashmir, Reuters reported.

Moody's warned that the standoff could set back Islamabad's economic reforms as world powers called for calm.

Relations between the nuclear-armed states have escalated since gunmen killed 26 people on April 22 in a terror attack targeting Hindu tourists in Indian Kashmir.

India has accused Pakistan of involvement. Islamabad has denied the allegations but said it has intelligence that New Delhi intends to launch military action against it soon.

The countries have shut their land borders, suspended trade, and closed their airspace to each other's airlines, and there have been exchanges of small arms fire across the frontier in Kashmir.

India's interior ministry has asked several states to conduct mock security drills on May 7 to ensure civil preparedness, Reuters reported citing a government source.

The drills will include air raid warning sirens, evacuation plans and training people to respond in case of any attacks, the source told Reuters.

Earlier, the Pakistani army said it had tested a Fatah series surface-to-surface missile with a range of 120 km (75 miles), two days after a successful launch of the Abdali surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 450 km.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the successful test launch "made it clear that Pakistan's defence is in strong hands".