By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Pakistan Wednesday successfully launched a short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile, the Hatf III (Ghaznavi), which has a range of 290 km.
Soldiers from the strategic force command carried out the successful launch, a statement by the army said.
The launch, during exercises in the third such training launch in as many weeks, was witnessed by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro and army chief Ashfaq Kayani.
Pakistan and India have routinely conducted missile tests since the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours carried out tit-for-tat atomic detonations in May 1998.
The two countries have an agreement to notify each other about tests of ballistic missiles but not cruise missiles.
The strategic competition with India has spurred Pakistani efforts to acquire ballistic missiles, which it claims to have done without assistance.
Pakistan’s missile industry includes a large solid rocket motor production complex and a ballistic missile test facility.
The short range Hatf-1 and Hatf-2, which are of Pakistani design and construction, were developed by the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).