Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction

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Pakistan is one of nine countries known to possess nuclear weapons. The country's nuclear program began in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who aimed to develop a nuclear capability as a strategic deterrent. He entrusted the initiative to Munir Ahmad Khan, Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), with a goal to have a nuclear device ready by the end of 1976. However, the PAEC faced significant challenges in meeting this timeline, particularly in producing sufficient fissile material, which was essential for the development of nuclear weapons. To expedite the process, Abdul Qadeer Khan, a metallurgist with experience in centrifuge enrichment from his work at Urenco, was brought into the program at the request of the Bhutto administration by late 1974.

Khan's involvement proved crucial to the success of the Kahuta Project, which focused on uranium enrichment. His expertise allowed Pakistan to progress significantly in its nuclear ambitions. Ultimately, these efforts culminated in Pakistan successfully detonating its first nuclear weapon in 1984, solidifying its status as a nuclear-armed state and altering the regional security dynamics in the Indian subcontinent.

The Kahuta Project, which was instrumental in Pakistan's nuclear weapons development, began under the oversight of a coordination board that managed the activities of the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). This board included key figures such as A.G.N. Kazi (Secretary General, Finance), Ghulam Ishaq Khan (Secretary General, Defence), and Agha Shahi (Secretary General, Foreign Affairs), and reported directly to Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Under their leadership, Major General Ali Nawab was appointed as the chief engineer of the program.

By April 1978, KRL achieved moderate uranium enrichment necessary for producing fissile material. As the political landscape changed, supervision of the project transitioned to Lt. General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan during President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's administration. Pakistan's drive for nuclear weapons was largely a response to the traumatic loss of East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1972. In a pivotal meeting on 20 January 1972, Bhutto convened senior scientists and engineers to discuss the nuclear weapons program, positioning himself as its main architect. He inspired Pakistan’s academic community to commit to developing an atomic bomb within three years as a matter of national survival. During this meeting, Bhutto appointed Munir Ahmad Khan as Chairman of PAEC. Khan had previously served as the director of the Nuclear Power and Reactor Division at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. In December 1972, Abdus Salam established the Theoretical Physics Group (TPG), directing scientists from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) to collaborate with Munir Ahmad Khan. This initiative marked a significant step in Pakistan's pursuit of nuclear deterrence capability.

The urgency to develop nuclear weapons intensified following India’s surprise nuclear test, codenamed Smiling Buddha, in 1974. This test was notable as it was the first confirmed nuclear explosion by a nation outside the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, thereby providing a substantial impetus for Pakistan's nuclear ambitions.

On 28 May 1998, Pakistan conducted its first successful nuclear tests, detonating five nuclear devices in the Ras Koh Hills of the Chagai district in Balochistan. This operation, known as Chagai-I, came just weeks after India’s second nuclear test (Operation Shakti). The underground facilities used for these tests had been constructed earlier during the 1980s under the supervision of General Rahimuddin Khan, who was the provincial martial law administrator at that time.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission reported that the five tests generated a seismic signal measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale, with a total yield estimated at up to 40 kilotons (KT) of TNT. Dr. A.Q. Khan, a key figure in Pakistan's nuclear program, stated that one of the devices was a boosted fission device, while the other four were classified as sub-kiloton nuclear devices.

Following Chagai-I, Pakistan conducted a second round of tests, known as Chagai-II, on 30 May 1998, in the sandy Kharan Desert, also located in Balochistan. These tests marked a significant milestone for Pakistan, making it the seventh country in the world to develop and successfully test nuclear weapons.

Notably, according to a letter from A.Q. Khan to General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan had already achieved the capability to detonate a nuclear bomb using highly enriched uranium produced at Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) by 1984. This highlights the extensive groundwork laid in Pakistan's nuclear program prior to the public tests in 1998. Pakistan's fissile material production facilities are located at various sites, including Nilore, Kahuta, and the Khushab Nuclear Complex, which specialises in refining weapons-grade plutonium.