Pakistan military handout shows a medium rang
Pakistan military handout shows a medium rangReuters

Pakistan on Wednesday said it has successfully test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

The military described the Hatf V Ghauri missile, which has a range of 1,300 kilometers (approximately 800 miles), as a liquid fuel missile, capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.

"The test consolidates and strengthens Pakistan's deterrence capability and national security," the military said in a statement.

It was Pakistan's eighth missile test this year and comes two months after its last test of a Hatf-VII, which has a range of 700 kilometers (approximately 430 miles).

The country became a declared nuclear power in 1998, when it conducted underground nuclear tests in response to those carried out by its neighbor and bitter rival, India.

The two countries have fought three major wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. Neither is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation agreement.