The Nuclear Situation in Pakistan

1
The Nuclear Situation in Pakistan
2
Historical Background

• 1947 British colonial India is divided into two
  independent states

3
Wars between India and Pakistan

• 1947-48 first war over Kashmir
• 1965 second Kashmir war
• 1999 fighting occurs in Kashmir region

4
The Separation of East and West Pakistan

• 1971 India supports East Pakistan's separation
  from the Pakistani state militarily
• This is a humitiliating defeat for Pakistan which
  starts to develop a nuclear weapons program

5
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

6
The development of the Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

• 1974 First Indian peaceful nuclear explosion
  leads to intensifying of the Pakistani nuclear
  weapons program

7
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

8
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

9
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

10
The development of the Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

• 1980 Pakistan begins its missile program which is
  supported by China

11
The development of the Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

• 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

12
The development of the Pakistani nuclear weapons
program

• 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

13
The Proliferation Scandal

• 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

14
Pakistani Nuclear Weapons Capability

• Delivery Vehicles
• 1. Modified F-16 fighters as well as Mirage III
  and Mirage V aircraft

15
Pakistani Nuclear Weapons Capability

• Delivery Vehicles
• 2. Short-range Haft-II missiles and long-range
  surface-to-surface Ghauri missiles

16
Sources

• 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.) Pakistans
  Nuclear Weapons Proliferation and Security
  Issues (CRS Report for Congress), 2008
• Mahrwald, Susanne Die Entwicklung der
  Atomwaffen- und Raketenprogramme in Indien und
  Pakistan, 2007 (http//www.weltpolitik.net/print/3
  346.html, accessed on 8 May 2008)?