Pakistan tests cruise missile

Reuters

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan successfully tested its first nuclear-capable, ground-launched cruise missile yesterday without informing India in advance, a Pakistani military spokesman said.

Nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India reached an agreement last week to inform each other about missile tests but the spokesman, Major General Shaukut Sultan, said India was not told about the test because the new Babur missile is not a ballistic missile.

''We don't have to inform neighboring countries in this case. It is not a ballistic missile and it doesn't fall under the agreement," he said.

The Babur, which has a range of 310 miles, is a terrain-hugging missile that can avoid radar detection and strike with pinpoint accuracy, the military said.

''By conducting the successful test, Pakistan has joined a select group of countries which have the capability to design and develop cruise missiles," the military said in a statement.

Pakistan and India tested nuclear weapons in 1998