Pakistan tested its first nuclear-capable, ground-launched cruise missile today without informing rival India in advance, a Pakistani military spokesman said.
The indigenously produced Babur missile, which has a range of 500 km, was successfully tested, said the spokesman, Major-General Shaukat Sultan.
Nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India reached an agreement last week to inform each other about missile tests but Sultan said India was not told about today's test as the accord did not cover the Babur missile.
"We don't have to inform neighbouring countries in this case. It is not a ballistic missile and it doesn't fall under the agreement," he said.
The Babur 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. President Pervez Musharraf hailed the test as a milestone in Pakistan's quest to strengthen and consolidate its strategic capability and said it improved the military balance with India.