The Nuclear Situation in Pakistan

Presented to: Tooba Shakoor

Presented by: Zia ur Rehman
Enroll # 01-161141-066
Oral Communication
Bs Geology 3A

Historical Background

1947 British colonial India is divided into two independent

states

Wars between India and

Pakistan

1947-48 first war over Kashmir

1965 second Kashmir war

1999 fighting occurs in Kashmir region

The Separation of East and

West Pakistan

1971 India supports East Pakistan's separation from the

Pakistani state militarily

This is a humiliating defeat for Pakistan which starts to

develop a nuclear weapons program

The development of the

Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

1956 Atomic Energy Research Council

1965 first nuclear reactor built with US aid

1968 India and Pakistan refuse to sign the Non-Proliferation

Treaty

1972 decision to start a nuclear weapons program

The development of the

Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

1974 First Indian peaceful nuclear explosion leads to

intensifying of the Pakistani nuclear weapons program

The development of the

Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

1974 nuclear scientist Abdul Qadir Khan offers his services to

the Pakistani government

Khan had studied in Europe, in West Berlin, Holland and

Belgium

The development of the

Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

He had worked at Physical Dynamic Research Laboratory,

a company associated with the Urenco uranium
enrichment consortium, before he was transferred away
for asking suspicous questions

1976 Khan receives control over Pakistani uranium

enrichment programs

1978 Pakistan enriches uranium for the first time at an

enrichment facility made according to Khan's plans

The development of the

Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

1979 Pakistan is sanctioned after the US intelligence

learns about the Pakistani enrichment facility

However, after the Soviet Union attacks Afghanistan,

Pakistan becomes the most important US ally in the
region and the US government turns a blind eye on the
nuclear weapons program

The development of the

Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

10

1980 Pakistan begins its missile program which is supported

by China

The development of the

Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

11

Mid 1980s-1990 Pakistan is able to produce enough

uranium for a nuclear weapon and produces nuclear
warheads

1994 Prime minister Nawaz Sharif reveals that Pakistan

has a nuclear bomb

The development of the

Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

12

1998 Pakistan tests the Ghauri-I missile reaching 1,500 km

1998 Both India and Pakistan make nuclear tests which

lead to US sanctions (lifted in 2001)

1999 Pakistan makes further missile tests

The Proliferation Scandal

13

2003 It is revealed that Abdul Qadir Khan was responsible

for building a proliferation network and selling nuclear
technology to countries such as North Korea, Iran and
Libya

Khan is pardoned by the Pakistani government but stays

until today under house arrest

Pakistani Nuclear Weapons 14

Capability

Delivery Vehicles:

1. Modified F-16 fighters as well as Mirage III and

Mirage V aircraft

Pakistani Nuclear
Weapons Capability

15

Delivery Vehicles:

2. Short-range Haft-II missiles and long-range surface-tosurface Ghauri missiles

Sources

16

Ahmed, Samina: Pakistans Nuclear Weapons Program:

Moving Forward or Tactical Retreat? (Kroc Institute
Occasional Papers #18), 2000

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: A. Q. Khan

Nuclear Chronology, Issue Brief: Non Proliferation Vol.
VIII, No. 8, 2005

Kerr, Paul; Nikitin, Mary Beth (eds.): Pakistan`s Nuclear

Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues (CRS Report
for Congress), 2008

Mahrwald, Susanne: Die Entwicklung der Atomwaffenund Raketenprogramme in Indien und Pakistan, 2007
(http://www.weltpolitik.net/print/3346.html, accessed on 8
May 2008)