Islamabad - Pakistan on Tuesday carried out a success test firing of its Hatf-VII Babur cruise missile, which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the country's military said. The domestically developed Babur, a low-flying, terrain-hugging and highly manoeuvrable missile, has near-stealth capabilities and can strike targets up to 700 kilometres away, including cities deep inside rival neighbour India, officials have said.
Both countries have nuclear weapons and have fought three conventional wars since their independence and partition in 1947.
The missile test was part of a continuous process of validating the design parameters set for the weapon and would consolidate Pakistan's strategic capability and strengthen national security, a military statement said.
President Pervez Musharraf and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro congratulated scientists and engineers on the successful test and assured them of continued government support in the development of strategic weapons, it said.
The Babur missile was first tested in late July. The following month, the country test-fired the air-launched Hatf VIII, which is also capable of carrying nuclear warheads and has a range of 350 kilometres.
