Hailing the successful test-fire of Pakistan's first cruise missile Hatf VII Babur on Aug. 11 as a "major milestone in the country's defense programme", President Pervez Musharraf echoed the sentiments of the entire nation. General Musharraf declared that the scientists and technicians involved had "again done the nation proud by mastering a rare technology". Information Minister Sheikh Rashid declared it to be a "gift of the scientists on the birthday of President Musharraf and the Independence Day," since the day coincided with President Musharraf's 62nd birthday. The considerations for the date and time of the test were based more on atmospheric and weather considerations rather than historical ones. The successful launch was epoch making by itself as Pakistan now has achieved the distinction of joining a select club of nations that have developed the ground-hugging fire-and-forget projectiles.
展开▼
机译：8月11日，穆沙拉夫总统赞赏巴基斯坦首枚巡航导弹“哈夫七世”（Haft VII Babur）的成功试射，将其作为“该国国防计划的一个重要里程碑”。穆沙拉夫将军宣布，所涉科学家和技术人员“通过掌握一项稀有技术，再次使整个国家感到自豪”。信息部长谢赫·拉希德（Sheikh Rashid）宣布，这是“纪念穆沙拉夫总统诞辰和独立日的科学家们的礼物”，因为这一天恰逢穆沙拉夫总统诞辰62周年。测试日期和时间的考虑更多地基于大气和天气因素，而非历史因素。成功的发射本身就具有划时代的意义，因为巴基斯坦现在已经加入了一些选择国，这些国家已经开发出了具有地面防御能力的“发射后遗忘型”射弹，因此具有划时代的意义。
展开▼
