Pakistan yesterday test fired its first cruise missile, capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads, and did not give advance warning to its archrival India, officials said.
The missile, named Babur, has a range of 500km, and was fired early yesterday. The launch site was not disclosed.
"By the grace of Allah, all design parameters for the flight were validated," a military statement said.
The Foreign Ministry said Pakistan did not inform India, as an agreement formalized between the two countries over the weekend in New Delhi on pre-notification of missile tests does not cover cruise missiles.
There was no immediate reaction from India.
"The agreement on pre-notification of ballistic missiles, which has been finalized but yet not signed in New Delhi, does not cover pre-notification of cruise missile tests," said Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Naeem Khan.
Cruise missiles are typically low-flying guided missiles that use jet propulsion to allow sustained flight.
The military statement said the Babur missile flies parallel to the surface of the ground, can hit its target with "pinpoint accuracy" and can be fired from war ships, submarines and fighter jets.
"The technology enables the missile to avoid radar detection and penetrate undetected through any hostile defensive system," it said.
Army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said Pakistan has joined the few countries "that can design and make cruise missiles."
President General Pervez Musharraf praised the scientists and engineers involved in the Babur project for their success, "and reiterated Pakistan's resolve to continue to meet emerging challenges and geo-strategic developments in its neighborhood," the army statement said.
The missile test agreement is part of confidence-building in a peace process between the South Asian rivals, which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947. They also agreed at the weekend to set up a hot line next month to help prevent accidental nuclear conflict.
Pakistan and India, which both carried out nuclear tests in 1998, often carry out tit-for-tat missile tests capable of reaching deep inside each other's territory.
In March, Pakistan successfully test fired its longest range nuclear-capable Shaheen II missile, which can reach 2,000km.
India has said that it will test its longest range missile, the 3,000km Agni III, by year's end. It already has the intermediate range Agni I and Agni II versions of the missile.
India also has the short-range ballistic missile Prithvi, the anti-tank Nag missile, the short-range surface-to-air Trishul missile, and the supersonic cruise missile, Brahmos, in its arsenal.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
RSS