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3/14/2008 [Total Votes: 535, Hits: 574]Print

SAMEER SURYAKANT PATIL: Research Intern

Introduction
Pakistan became a nuclear weapons state in 1998. Since becoming the nuclear weapons state, the country has come to develop a small nuclear arsenal designed to deter India.

Civilian Nuclear Programme
Pakistan began its civilian nuclear programme in 1955 when the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission was set up. In 1972, Pakistan began work on its first nuclear power station with Canadian help. However, this Canadian involvement ended in 1976 when concerns were raised over proliferation and safeguards issues. In 1989, Pakistan and China signed an agreement to set up a 300 MW nuclear plant.¹

WMD Overview

i) Nuclear Weapons
The country began its nuclear weapons programme in 1970s when it was defeated at the hands of India in the 1971 Indo-Bangladesh War.² The arrival of Dr. A. Q. Khan in 1975 greatly speeded up these efforts.³ He was put up in charge of the Kahuta nuclear facility which employed an extensive clandestine network to develop a uranium enrichment capability for Pakistan. Through 1980s, Pakistan acquired the ability carry out a nuclear test.

Pakistan’s nuclear programme is highly-enriched Uranium based. The country according to some estimates possesses a small nuclear arsenal. Based on the amount of fissile material that it is estimated to possess, the SIPRI has calculated that Pakistan possessed about 60 nuclear weapons in 2006.⁴ According to another estimate, Pakistan had about 25 weapons in 1999.⁵ Pakistan is also in the process of expanding its nuclear complex through a new Plutonium production reactor and a new chemical separation facility.⁶

In the backdrop of the September 1, terrorist attacks and concerns raised by the international community over the possibility of Pakistani nuclear weapons falling in the hands of religious fundamentalists and terrorists, Pakistan took a number of steps to ensure proper command and control of its weapons. In 2000, it placed its nuclear institutions under the control of the National Command Authority. Yet, concerns remain over the possibility of terrorist access to these weapons. The country does not have a stated nuclear policy but its ‘minimum credible deterrent’ is thought to be primarily a deterrent military action.⁷

ii) Chemical Weapons
Pakistan signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) on January 13, 1996.⁸ At the time of signing the treaty, Pakistan declared that it did not possess chemical weapons stockpiles. The treaty was ratified on October 28, 1997 by Pakistan. It is also a member of the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).⁹ According to Global Security, although Pakistan does not admit to the manufacture of chemical weapons, it does use and consume a number of chemicals that can be utilised for producing chemical arms.¹⁰

iii) Biological Weapons
Pakistan has a fairly well-developed bio-technology sector that is capable of producing biological weapons. In 1996, the US Department of Defence had stated that Pakistan had the capability to conduct research and development relating to biological warfare.¹¹ However this statement had not been corroborated with evidence. The Pakistani government insists that it has never developed, produced or stockpiled biological weapons or agents and that bio-warfare programme is not part of the country’s defence matrix.¹²

Delivery Systems
The aircraft in the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) that is most likely to be used in the nuclear weapon delivery role is the US-manufactured F-16, although other aircraft, such as Mirage V or the Chinese-produced A-5, also could be sued. Twenty-eight F-16A (single-seat) and 12 F-16B (two-seat) trainers were delivered to the PAF between 1983 and 1987.¹³ In terms of missile inventory, Pakistan has deployed three families of ballistic missiles that have a nuclear delivery role-Ghaznavi, Shaheen and Ghauri.

Pakistan Missile Inventory 14
Missile	Status	Payload	Range	Description
Ghaznavi (Hatf-3)	Inducted in 2004	500 kg.	300 km.	Single-stage, solid-propellant, believed to be the copy of Chinese M11.
Shaheen I (Hatf-4)	Inducted in 2003	750-1000 kg.	600-800 km.	Single-stage, solid fuel
Shaheen II (Hatf-6)	Development	750-1000 kg.	2000-3000 km.	Multiple warheads
Ghauri I (Hatf-5)	Inducted in 2003	700-1000 kg.	1350-1000 km.	Based on the North Korean Nodong missile
Ghauri III (Abdali)	Development	?		Based on the North Korean Taepodong-1 missile
Babur (Hatf-7)	Development		500 km.	Cruise missile
Ra’ad	Development		350 km.	Air-launched cruise missile

The country has received extensive assistance from China and North Korea is developing its missile base. In 1992, Pakistan obtained approximately 30 or more complete M-11 missiles from China. China has also extended help in constructing maintenance and storage facilities for missiles.

End Notes:

[1]. “Timeline: Pakistan’s Nuclear Program”, available at http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/02/04/pakistan.nuclear.timeline.reut/, accessed on May 22, 2008.

[2]. “NTI: Country Overviews: Pakistan: Nuclear Overview”, available at www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pakistan/Nuclear/index.html, accessed on May 20, 2008.

[3]. “Pakistan Nuclear Weapons: A Brief History of Pakistan’s Nuclear Program”, available at www.fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/nuke/, accessed on May 19, 2008.

[4]. N. Kile, Vitaly Fedchenko and Hans M. Kristensen, ‘World Nuclear Forces’, SIPRI Yarbook2006: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).

[5]. Ibid.

[6]. “NTI: Country Overviews: Pakistan: Nuclear Overview”, available at www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pakistan/Nuclear/index.html, accessed on May 20, 2008.

[7]. Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues”. CRS Report for Congress, available at http://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34248.pdf, accessed on May 21, 2008.

[8]. “India-Pakistan Agreement on Chemical Weapons”, available at cns.miis.edu/pubs/inven/pdfs/indpakch.pdf, accessed on May 21, 2008.

[9]. “NTI: Country Overviews: Pakistan: Chemical Profile”, available at www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pakistan/index_4286.html, accessed on May 19, 2008.

[10]. See “Pakistan Chemical Weapons”, available at www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/cw.htm, accessed on May 20, 2008.

[11]. “NTI: Country Overviews: Pakistan: Chemical Profile”, available at www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pakistan/index_4286.html, accessed on May 19, 2008.

[12]. “NTI: Country Overviews: Pakistan: Biological Profile”, available at www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pakistan/Biological/index.html, accessed on May 21, 2008.

[13]. “Pakistani Nuclear Forces, 2002”, available at http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/nudb/datab21.asp, accessed on May 20, 2008.

[14]. Prepared from Shannon N. Kile, Vitaly Fedchenko and Hans M. Kristensen, ‘World Nuclear Forces’, SIPRI Yarbook2006: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).

[15]. “Country Profile Pakistan: Treaties and Organizations”, available at http://www.nti.org/e_research/official_docs/inventory/pdfs/pakistan.pdf, accessed on May 21, 2008.

Related Tags:

Nuclear Weapons State, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Nuclear Power Station, Dr. A. Q. Khan, Nuclear Arsenal, National Command Authority, Chemical Weapons Convention, Pakistani Air Force, Ghaznavi Missile, Shaheen Missile, Ghauri Missile, Babur Missile, Geneva Protocol

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