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Pakistan testfires cruise missile

Nirupama Subramanian

— PHOTO: AFP

A longrange nuclear-capable Hatf VII Babur cruise missile being fired in Pakistan on Thursday.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday successfully testfired a cruise missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads and escaping radar detection, the military said. The Hatf VII Babur missile has a range of 700 km and can carry "various warheads including nuclear", a statement from the Inter-Service Public Relations said.

This is the third time the cruise missile, slated as Pakistan's answer to the Brahmos missile of India, has been tested. The first time was in 2005 and the second in March 2006.

"The Babur is a terrain hugging, radar avoiding cruise missile, whose range has now been enhanced to 700 km," it said. The chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Ehsan ul Haq, as well as senior military officials and scientists witnessed the test. President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz sent congratulatory messages.

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