ISLAMABAD, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - Pakistan successfully tested its Babur Hatf VII cruise missile, capable of carrying a variety of warheads, including nuclear, local television channels said citing military sources Thursday.
It was the second test of the Babur this year. The original test was conducted in 2005. The military said they had extended the range of the missile from 500 to 700 kilometers (300-430 miles).
Early this year, Pakistan test-fired a new version of its long-range nuclear-capable missile, the Shaheen II (Hatf VI), which has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,245 miles), and the Abdali (Hatf II) missile with a range of 180 kilometers (112 miles) as part of a program to modernize its missile arsenal, the military said.
Pakistan and its longstanding rival, India, which have fought three wars in the past half-century, have routinely carried out tit-for-tat missile tests. In 1998, they both conducted underground nuclear tests.
The two states have been in talks to resolve their main dispute over Kashmir, a region on the Himalayas, but have achieved no breakthrough so far.
