Agence France-Presse . Karachi

Pakistan's military chief on Wednesday said that a test by India of a sea-based nuclear-capable missile would start a new arms race between the South Asian arch rivals, state media reported.

India conducted its first test of a nuclear-capable missile from an undersea platform on Tuesday, completing its goal of having air, land and sea ballistic systems.

'This is going to start a new arms race in the region,' the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted naval chief Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir as telling a group of journalists at a ship-building facility inauguration in Karachi.

'We are aware of these developments, and these developments are taking place with a view to put nuclear weapons at sea and it is a very, very serious issue,' the state news agency quoted him as saying. '