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It is not exactly known when Pakistan began developing nuclear weapons but it is believed to have started in the 1970s and apparently conducted its first test on 28 May,1998 when it detonated 5 separate devices in a remote mountain desert area in its Balochistan province. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan's Nuclear Program, initially as Minister for Fuel, Power and Natural Resources, and later as President and Prime Minister; which earned him the given title by his own people as Quaid-e-Awam (Leader of the People). Pakistan's nuclear program was launched in earnest shortly after the loss of East Pakistan in the 1971 war with India, when Bhutto initiated a program to develop nuclear weapons with a meeting of physicists and engineers at Multan in January 1972. In 1974 India successfully tested a nuclear "device". Momentum for the program was provided by this Indian nuclear test operation, called the Smiling Buddha. Bhutto reacted strongly to this test and said Pakistan must develop its own "nuclear capability". Regarding the program he said; We will defend our country using any means necessary and build a nuclear capability second to none. We will eat grass for 1000 years, if we have to, but we will get there. Consequently, Abdul Qadeer Khan, a metallurgist working in a Dutch firm stole URENCO blueprints for uranium centrifuges to initiate Pakistan's nuclear programme. Weapons development takes place at Kahuta and Joharabad, where weapons grade plutonium is made; the latter allegedly with the assistance of Chinese technology. Estimates usually put Pakistan's nuclear deterrent at around 40 Highly Enriched Uranium warheads. Nuclear policy Pakistan acceded to the Geneva Protocol on April 15, 1960, the Biological Weapons Convention in 1974 and the Chemical Weapons Convention on October 28, 1997.In 1999 Pakistan signed the Lahore Accords, with India, agreeing a bilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. However, Pakistan, like India and Israel is not a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and, consequently, not bound by any of its provisions. Whereas the other declared and undeclared nuclear enabled states have maintained restraint by not proliferating WMDs, Pakistan has been involved in sharing nuclear expertise with states like North Korea, Iran and Libya drawing condemnation worldwide for Pakistan to be declared a rogue state. Its chief nuclear founder, A.Q. Khan admitted his role in nuclear proliferation leading to fears in the international community about nuclear terrorism. Nuclear Infrastructure Pakistan's nuclear program is based primarily on highly enriched uranium (HEU), which is produced at the A. Q. Khan Research Laboratory at Kahuta, a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility. The Kahuta facility has been in use since the early 1980s. By the early 1990s, Kahuta had an estimated 3,000 centrifuges in operation, and Pakistan continued its pursuit of expanded uranium enrichment capabilities. In the 1990s Pakistan began to pursue plutonium production capabilities. With Chinese assistance, Pakistan built the 40 MWt (megawatt thermal) Khusab research reactor at Joharabad, and in April 1998, Pakistan announced that the reactor was operational. According to public statements made by US officials, this unsafeguarded heavy water reactor can produce up to 8 to 10 kilograms of plutonium per year•. According the Wikipedia's plutonium article this is sufficient for one nuclear weapon. The reactor could also produce tritium if it were loaded with lithium-6 although this is unnecessary for weapons purposes because modern nuclear weapon designs use Li6 directly. According to J. Cirincione of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Khusab's plutonium production capacity could allow Pakistan to develop lighter nuclear warheads that would be easier to deliver with a ballistic missile. Plutonium separation reportedly takes place at the New Labs reprocessing plant next to Pakistan's Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (Pinstech) in Rawalpindi and at the larger Chasma nuclear power plant, neither of which are subject to IAEA inspection. Nuclear Arsenal The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) estimates that Pakistan has built 24-48 HEU-based nuclear warheads with HEU reserves for 30-52 additional warheads. The US Navy Center for Contempary Conflict estimates that Pakistan possesses between a low of 35 and a high of 95 nuclear warheads, with a median of 60. • The NRDC and the Carnegie Foundation estimates of approx 50 weapons are 2002-3 estimates. Pakistan's nuclear warheads are based on an implosion design that uses a solid core of highly enriched uranium and requires an estimated 15-20 kg of material per warhead. The NRDC also thinks that Pakistan has also produced a small but unknown quantity of weapons grade plutonium, which is sufficient for an estimated 3-5 nuclear weapons per annum based on the estimation of 5kg of Plunonium per warhead. Pakistan also claims that the fissile cores are stored separately from the other non-nuclear explosive packages, which Islamabad says can be put together rather quickly. Foreign Assistance In the past, the People's Republic of China played a major role in the development of Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure, especially when increasingly stringent export controls in western countries made it difficult for Pakistan to acquire materials and technology elsewhere. According to a 2001 Department of Defense report, China has supplied Pakistan with nuclear materials and expertise and has provided critical assistance in the construction of Pakistan's nuclear facilities. Pakistans Nuclear Doctrine Pakistan's motive for pursuing a nuclear weapons program is to counter the threat posed by its principal rival, India. Pakistan has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). According to the Defense Department report cited above, "Pakistan remains steadfast in its refusal to sign the NPT, stating that it would do so only after India joined the Treaty. Consequently, not all of Pakistan's nuclear facilities are under IAEA safeguards. Pakistani officials have stated that signature of the CTBT is in Pakistan's best interest, but that Pakistan will do so only after developing a domestic consensus on the issue, and have disavowed any connection with India's decision." Pakistan does not abide by a no-first-use doctrine, as evidenced by President Pervez Musharraf's statements in May, 2002. Musharraf said that Pakistan did not want a conflict with India but that if it came to war between the nuclear-armed rivals, he would "respond with full might." These statements were interpreted to mean that if pressed by an overwhelming conventional attack from India, Pakistan might use its nuclear weapons. Aside from these public declarations, Pakistan has not issued an official nuclear doctrine. There has also been criticism of Pakistan's nuclear doctrine which gives rise to ambiguity and that they were too eager to use the nuclear option in the Kargil War when the Pakistan Army was facing a stern challenge due to loss of posts and personnel. The organization authorized to make decisions about Pakistan's nuclear posturing is the National Command Authority (NCA) established in Februrary 2000. The NCA is composed of two committees that advise President Musharraf on the development and employment of nuclear weapons; it is also responsible for wartime command and control. In 2001, Pakistan further consolidated its nuclear infrastructure by placing the Khan Research Laboratories and the Pakistan Atomic Research Corporation under the control on of one Nuclear Defense Complex. Pakistan Special Weapons Agencies National Security Council Ministry of Defence Production Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission|PAEC) PINSTECH|Pakistan Institute of Science & Technology (PINSTECH) Khushab Reactor, Khushab, Punjab National Development Complex/Centre Multan Heavy Water Production Facility, Multan Division, Punjab CHASNUPP-1|Chasma Nuclear Power Plant I (CHASNUPP-1), Chashma (Pakistan)|Chasma CHASNUPP-2|Chasma Nuclear Power Plant II (CHASNUPP-2), Chashma (Pakistan)|Chasma KANUPP|Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP), Karachi Suparco|Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (Suparco|SUPARCO) Ministry of Industries & Production Missiles Recent developments It has been recently reported by the Pakistani Press namely Jang that Pakistan has the ability to MIRV its missiles. This has been seen as possibly the greatest achievement to date. It has also been reported that Pakistan would likely MIRV its Shaheen-II missile. Aircraft delivery 2 units operating the Chinese-built A-5 (No. 16 Sqn and No. 26 Sqn), an aircraft believed to be a leading candidate for the aerial delivery of nuclear weapons. The others are the Mirage IIIOs, Mirage IIIODs and Mirage IIIEs. The Pakistani Air Force currently operates some 156 Mirage aircraft. The allocation of 90 of these aircraft is not currently known. Pakistan has also recently tested its Babur cruise missile having a range of 500km. It was a ground launched version and according to Pakistan Military sources the submarine and air delivered versions are soon to follow. Notes | |||||||
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