Pakistan's short-range Hatf III Ghaznavi missile takes off from an undisclosed location during a test flight December 9, 2006. Pakistan's military successfully test-fired on Saturday a shot-range, nuclear-capable Hatf III Ghaznavi missile with a range of 290 km (180miles).[Reuters]

The Hataf-III (Ghaznavi) Missile has a range of 290 km, a statement from the army's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

This was the third launch of a ballistic missile by the Strategic Missile Group (SMG) in as many weeks as part of the training exercises of the Pakistan Army's Strategic Force Command (ASFC), according to the statement.

Two other SMGs had earlier conducted successful launches of the Ghauri and Shaheen-I ballistic missiles last month.

"The launch came at the culmination phase of the training exercise, which validated the operational readiness of the Strategic Missile Group (SMG) equipped with Ghaznavi Missiles," the statement said.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed and a large number of senior military officers, scientists and engineers of the strategic organizations witnessed the launch exercise, it added.