Pakistani nuclear program
The Pakistani nuclear program began in 1972 under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto . Like its neighbor and arch-rival India , Pakistan is a de facto nuclear power and has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Pakistan's original goal of having the atomic bomb as early as 1976 , however, could not be met. The first public atomic bomb test took place in 1998. Pakistan currently operates three commercial reactors with a total of 690 MW, and two more with a total of 630 MW are under construction.
Nuclear reactors in Pakistan:  commercial plants in operation |
history
In 1965, the Pakistani Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology was founded and the first research reactor went into operation at the end of that year - a year after Abdus Salam left the country. In 1969, the construction of a commercial reactor with an electrical output of 90 MW began in Karachi. Abdus Salam finally returned and became director of the institute in 1970/71. The leading engineer of the official state nuclear program, which started on January 20, 1972, was initially Munir Ahmad Khan. In 1974, Abdul Kadir Khan joined them and made a significant contribution to the program. Munir Ahmad Khan became director of the research institute. The nuclear weapons have been developed since 1976 under the direction of Abdul Kadir Khan. The Khan Research Center is named after him. 1974-1983 ran the atomic program under different code names like Project-706 or Project-726. According to Abdul Kadir Khan, it was not until 1985 that all means were available to carry out a successful nuclear test. 1981–1987 the country received US $ 3.2 billion in military and civil aid from the United States . During the military regime of Mohammed Zia ul-Haq , the military was modernized with the help of the USA against the backdrop of the war in Afghanistan . Zia ul-Haq confirmed in a 1987 public interview with the US magazine Time that Pakistan could manufacture a nuclear weapon at any time.
 
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Nuclear facilities in Pakistan:  Plutonium production |
In 1998, the Pakistani armed forces detonated six underground nuclear weapons in Balochistan Province . It did so in response to five Indian tests in the same year. In the polls about the nuclear tests, with which Pakistan also wanted to return the favor for the first Indian test in 1974, there was between around 60% and 97% approval.
The tactical nuclear force was introduced in 1999 by Pervez Musharraf and reports directly to the President. The nuclear arsenal is estimated at 100-120 warheads. There is no official information on this. The number of medium and long-range missiles in Pakistan is also unclear.
Pakistan uses highly enriched uranium for its warheads ; in 2014 its inventory was estimated at 2.7-3.5 tons. For enrichment, the country operates gas centrifuges in Gadwal and Kahuta in the Punjab province .
Pakistan successfully tested the Hatf VII Babur cruise missile in August 2005 . The armed forces follow the Pakistani nuclear doctrine , which includes a first strike .
Individual evidence
- ↑ IDEAS = International Defense Exhibition and Seminar, an international exhibition and conference for defense technology
- ↑ https://www.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/CountryDetails.aspx?current=PK
- ^ New York Times, February 19, 2004: Roots of Pakistan Atomic Scandal Traced to Europe
- ↑ Vyacheslav Y. Belokrenitsky, Vladimir N. Moskalenko: A Political History of Pakistan 1947-2007 , Oxford, 2013, pp. 278-280
- ^ Khan, Feroz Hassan: Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistan Atomic Bomb . Palo Alto, California, Stanford University Press, 2012
- ↑ Vyacheslav Y. Belokrenitsky, Vladimir N. Moskalenko: A Political History of Pakistan 1947-2007 , Oxford, 2013, pp. 353–355
- ↑ a b Pakistan , SIPRI , World Nuclear Forces, accessed March 31, 2019