Pakistan's nuclear weapons
| Pakistan | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear program start date | 20 January 1972 |
| First nuclear weapon test | 28 May 1998 (Chagai-I) |
| First fusion weapon test | N/A |
| Last nuclear test | 30 May 1998 (Chagai-II) |
| Largest yield test | 25–40 kt in 1998 (PAEC claim) |
| Total tests | 6 detonations |
| Peak stockpile | 130 warheads (2016 estimate) |
| Current stockpile (usable and not) | 130 warheads |
| Maximum missile range | 2,750 km (Shaheen-III) |
| NPT party | No |
Pakistan is one of nine states to possess nuclear weapons, and the only Muslim majority country to do so. Pakistan began development of nuclear weapons in January 1972 under Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who delegated the program to the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Munir Ahmad Khan with a commitment to have the bomb ready by the end of 1976. Since PAEC, consisting of over twenty laboratories and projects under nuclear engineer Munir Ahmad Khan, was falling behind schedule and having considerable difficulty producing fissile material, Abdul Qadeer Khan was brought from Europe by Bhutto at the end of 1974. As pointed out by Houston Wood, Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, in his article on gas centrifuges, "The most difficult step in building a nuclear weapon is the production of fissile material"; as such, this work in producing fissile material as head of the Kahuta Project was pivotal to Pakistan developing the capability to detonate a nuclear bomb by the end of 1984.
The Kahuta Project started under the supervision of a coordination board that oversaw the activities of KRL and PAEC. The Board consisted of A G N Kazi (secretary general, finance), Ghulam Ishaq Khan (secretary general, defence), and Agha Shahi (secretary general, foreign affairs), and reported directly to Bhutto. Ghulam Ishaq Khan and General Tikka Khan appointed military engineer Major General Ali Nawab to the program. Eventually, the supervision passed to Lt General Zahid Ali Akbar in President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Administration. Moderate uranium enrichment for the production of fissile material was achieved at KRL by April 1978.
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