Pakistan tested a cruise missile manufactured by its military facilities. This is the third missile test carried out by Pakistan and it took place amid growing concerns that the country's nuclear arsenal may not be secure.

The army described the Hatf-VII Babur nuclear-capable missile on its website as having ``near stealth capabilities and is a low flying, terrain hugging missile with high maneuverability, pin point accuracy and radar avoidance features.''

The domestically developed Hatf-VII Babur has a range of 434 miles (700 kilometers).
The missile can reach cities deep inside rival neighbor India, officials have said.
Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons and since their independence and partition in 1947 they have engaged in three conventional wars.

The military statement also said regarding the missile test that it was a part of a continuous process of validating the design parameters set for the weapon. This process has the goal of consolidating Pakistan's strategic capability and strengthening national security.

Top Pakistani officials like President Pervez Musharraf and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro praised the scientists and engineers that took part at this project and promised them that the support of the government in the development of strategic weapons will continue.

Previous tests have been made. In July, the Babur missile was first tested. Then, in August, the Pakistani military tested the air-launched Hatf VIII (or Raad, "thunder" in Arabic). This missile is also capable of carrying nuclear warheads and has a range of 220 miles (350 kilometers).

The surface-to-surface nuclear-capable Hatf VI missile, with a much longer range of 1,250 miles (2,000 km) has been tested in February.

Regarding the security of Pakistan’s arsenal, Muhammad Khurshid Khan, deputy director of Pakistan's Strategic Plans Division, which controls the atomic missiles, said that the atomic weapons of the country are well guarded by a division of 8,000 guards.