Chagai-I
Encyclopedia
The Chagai-I was a codename referring to the five underground
nuclear tests
conducted by Pakistan
at 15:15hrs
(3:15p.m. PST
) in 28th May of 1998. It was named Chagai-I, as the tests were conducted in the Chagai District
(Baluchistan province
). The Chagai-I — a nuclear test operation — was carried out in response to India's Operation Shakti
nuclear tests on May 11 and May 13th of 1998. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety
of economic sanctions
against both Pakistan and India by a number of major states, particularly the United States
and Japan
. With simultaneous atomic testing of these five nuclear devices, Pakistan, thus became the 7th country in the world to successfully develop and publicly test nuclear weapons.
on January 20th of 1972, two weeks after the disastrous Indo-Pakistani Winter war
. The nuclear deterrent development
was exercised in under complete control of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
who came into the political power, and assumed the control of his country, days after the recent war. The Bangladesh Liberation War
and the Indo-Pakistan 1971 Winter war
was an unforgettable war and lesson to the Pakistani political and military establishment
. For Pakistan, it was a complete and humiliating defeat, a psychological setback that came from a defeat at the hands of intense rival India. Pakistan lost half its territory, a significant portion of its economy and its geo-political role in South Asia. Pakistan failed to gather any moral and foreign support even from her allies, particularly the United States
and the People's Republic of China
, and the Two-Nation Theory
was brutally failed. Since the Partition
, the physical existence Pakistan seemed to be in great mortal danger and quite obviously could rely on no one but itself. The legacy of the 1971 War has left deep scars in Pakistan's civil society as well as leaving the political and military misery.
The 1971 Winter war had played a crucial and groundbreaking role in the hearts of Pakistani scientists who had also witnessed the war, such as Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad
and Dr. Abdus Salam
. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was "obsessed" with Indian nuclear efforts, orchestrated and initiated the programme after chairing a meeting at Multan. The weapons research program, at an early stage, was headed by world renowned scientist and Nobel Laureate in Physics Dr. Abdus Salam
, as he was the head of Theoretical Physics Group and Mathematical Physics Group at PAEC. Dr. Abdus Salam, who as Science adviser to the Prime minister
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
, led the nuclear weapon research under his supervision and guidance until 1974. In January 1972, Bhutto called nuclear engineer Munir Ahmad Khan
from International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) to lead the program administratively while Bhutto controlled the program as the political administrative figure. Along with Prof. Salam, Munir Ahmad Khan
increased the diameter of scientific research throughout the country. In PAEC, Salam established research divisions and groups that took charge to carry out the physics and mathematical calculations regarding to the development of the weapon.
The former Prime Minister of Pakistan
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
, who is widely remembered in the world as the "Father of Pakistan's atomic weapons program", for his administrative and active role in the development and initiation of the weapons program. While the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
's chairman Munir Ahmad Khan
, is often regarded as the "technical father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program", Munir Ahmed Khan headed the scientific research program under extreme secrecy, and supervised confidential research and development for almost two decades. Under Munir Ahmad Khan
, the academic scientists developed the program ingeniously, and heavily contributed in their respected fields. The research to developed the atomic bomb began in a meeting called by Munir Ahmad Khan
and Abdus Salam in March 1974 where mechanical engineer Hafeez Kureshi
was made head of the "Wah Group". A new Directorate of Technical Development (DTD) was set up to coordinate work on the various specialized groups working in PAEC on the design, development, and testing of nuclear weapons.
The 1974 Indian atomic test (See Operation Smiling Buddha) at the Pokhran
in 1974 spurred the Government of Pakistan
picked up its speed to developed atomic weapon programs under the three to five years. In July 1976, Abdul Qadeer Khan
who was then working as a senior scientist at the URENCO Group
also joined the program, where Qadeer Khan, along with renowned military engineer Lieutenant-General
Zahid Ali Akbar founded the then-Engineering Research Laboratories. The ERL led the successful enrichment of Uranium in a record time. The enrichment project was started in 1976, and a milestone in isotope separation was done in 1978. In 1981, the ERL produces first batch of HEU
fuel.
On March 11, 1983, a milestone was done when PAEC
led by Munir Ahmad Khan
carried out the first cold test of a working nuclear device, codename Kirana-I. This was followed by 24 more cold tests by PAEC
in which different weapon designs were tested and improved. It was the DTD that carried out the cold tests and the hot tests in 1998 at Chagai. After decades of covertly building and developing the atomic program and the related atomic devices. Pakistan under the leadership of Prime Minister
Näväz Scharief
, tested its six underground nuclear devices in Chagai Hills
.
(PAEC) research scientists frequently visiting the area to find a suitable location for an underground nuclear test, preferably a granite mountain
. After a long survey, the PAEC scientists chose the granite mountain Koh Kambaran in the Ras Koh Hills range in the Chagai Division of Baluchistan in 1978. Its highest point rises to a height of 3,009 metres (sources vary). The then-martial law administrator of the province, General Rahimuddin Khan
, spearheaded the construction of the potential test sites throughout the 1980s.
In March 2005, the former Pakistan Prime minister
Benazir Bhutto
said Pakistan
may have had an atomic weapon long before, and her father
had told her from his prison cell
that preparations for a nuclear test had been made in 1977, and he expected to have an atomic test of a nuclear device in August 1977. However, the plan was moved on to December 1977 and later it was delayed indefinitely. In an interview with Geo TV
, Samar Mubarakmand
of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, has said that the team of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission developed the design of atomic bomb in 1978 and had successfully conducted a cold test
after developing the first atomic bomb in 1983.
The exact origin of the name is unknown, but it is often attributed to the weapon-testing laboratory leader dr. Ishfaq Ahmad
as a reference to the Chagai Hills, in spite of no nuclear experiments were performed at the vicinity of this site. It is generally believed that the codename was given in the honor of the Chagai Hills in an attempt that it would not attract international and national attention of the world at where the exact tests were actually performed. On April 2010, Nawaz Sharif, at a public function to celebrate nuclear blasts, said the then-U.S President Bill Clinton
offered a package of US$
5 billion for not carrying out nuclear blasts and warned about imposition of ban otherwise. Nawaz said that he was in Kazakhstan in a visit to meet the President
, Nursultan Nazarbayev
, when India tested its nuclear device. The entire nation was united in favour of nuclear blasts and Mushahid Hussain
was the first person who advice that nuclear blasts should be carried out in reply of Indian nuclear explosions
. In 1999, in an interview given to Pakistani and Indian journalists in Islamabad, Sharif had said: If India had not exploded the bomb, Pakistan would not have done so. Once New Delhi did so, We [Sharif Government] had no choice because of public pressure.
carried out five underground nuclear tests at the Chagai test site at 3:16 p.m. (PST
) on the afternoon of May 28, 1998.
The total maximum yield of the tests was reported to be 40 kilotons of TNT equivalent
, with the largest device yielding 30–35 kilotons. Western seismologists estimated the yield of the largest device to be no greater than 12 kilotons, leading U.S. nuclear weapons expert David Albright
to doubt Pakistani claims. Following the tests, the then Prime minister
Navaz Scharief
addressed the nation via Pakistan
's government channel PTV and congratulated the entire nation and days of celebration followed throughout Pakistan
.
Scientific data received by PAEC, it appears that Pakistan did not tested a thermonuclear device, as oppose to India. According to Ishfaq Ahmad
, the PAEC had no plan to developed the three-stage thermonuclear device because of the economical reasons, even though back in 1974, Riazuddin did proposed the plan to Abdus Salam
, Director of Theoretical Physics Group that time. From outset, the PAEC concentrated to developed smaller but tactical nuclear weapons easily installed in PAF
's aircraft, naval
combatant vessels, and the missiles.
As oppose to India's thermonuclear approach, dr. N.M. Butt
, senior scientist, stated that PAEC built a sufficient numbers of neutron bomb
s — a battle-field weapon, which is essentially a low yield device.
which carried out the Chagai tests issued the following statement soon after the tests:
, nuclear
and particle physics
. The institutes bestowed hundreds of silver
and gold medallion
s and honorary doctorates to the scientists and engineers in 1998. Professor Abdus Salam (1926-1996) was also celebrated in Pakistan and Government of Pakistan released a commemorative stamp in the honor of Salam. In 1998, the theory of electroweak
and its discovery two decade ago by Salam, was also celebrated nationwide for which Abdus Salam was awarded the Physics's Nobel Prize
in 1979. In 1999, Government established Abdus Salam's museum in National Center for Physics, where his contribution to scientific programs and efforts were publicly recorded and televised. The May 28th has been officially declared as Youm-e-Takbeer (Day of Greatness) to commemorate and remembrance of the first five tests that were carried out in May 28, and as well as National Science Day in Pakistan to honor and remembrance the scientific efforts led by scientists to developed the devices. The day was officially signed by the then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif
. The day is celebrated by giving awards (such as Chagai-Medal) to various individuals and industries in the field of science and industries. The Nawaz Sharif Government also established the Chagai-I Medal and it was first awarded to the scientists of Pakistan in 1998 who were witnessed the tests. The graphite mountains are visibly shown in the gold medallion and equal ribbon stripes of yellow, red and white.
adopted Resolution 1172
condemning the Indian test and that of Pakistan's. Brazil declared that it "deplores" Pakistan's decision to carry out the tests. In an official statement on May 28, 1998, the French Foreign Ministry
denounced India's five nuclear tests. French President Jacques Chirac
implored Pakistan to abstain from further testing. Iran
, Pakistan's strategic ally also criticized the tests, with a formal statement by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mahmoud Mohammadi expressing deep concern at Pakistan's nuclear proliferation. Robin Cook
, Britain's foreign secretary, expressed dismay at the tests. Kofi Annan
, the secretary general of the United Nations, deplored the tests saying that "they exacerbate tension in an already difficult relationship".
The United Nations Security Council condemned Pakistan's five nuclear tests. "The council strongly deplores the underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan despite international calls for restraint," said a statement from Kenya
's Njugumu Moses Mahugu, president of the 15-member council. While France, Israel, and Russian globally supported Indian's stand on testing nuclear devices. Pakistan founded difficult to gather support even from its long term allies. Pakistan's strategic allies Turkey
, Germany
, and People's Republic of China
did not supported Pakistan while neither issued any statement. The tests brought Pakistan in an extensive Foreign policy deadlock, with no foreign support was found. Pakistan, since 1971 disaster
, failed to gather any support and a Foreign policy turmoil continued until Navaz Sharif was deposed in 1999.
At a news conference May 28, 1998, United States President Bill Clinton
condemned Pakistan's nuclear tests saying, "I deplore the decision." He also promised to reprimand Islamabad
with the same sanctions the United States has imposed on India." Clinton also signed off on economic sanctions against Pakistan that prohibited billions of dollars in loans from multilateral institutions.
NATO said that the tests were a "dangerous development" and also warned of sanctions.
adopted Resolution 1172
condemning the Indian test and that of Pakistan's. United States
, Japan
, Australia
, Sweden
, Canada
, and International Monetary Fund
, imposed economical sanctions on Pakistan. The Japanese government had called its Ambassador from Pakistan, and suspend its foreign relations with Pakistan. During the time of nuclear testing, it was reported that Pakistan had only $
1 Billion
in its national treasure
, and India had reported by be $29Billion in its State Bank
. By comparing to Pakistan's economy, the sanctions imposed by Resolution 1172, was exerted only with marginal effects on India’s economy and technological progress. The IMF had suspend $3Billion aid to Pakistan, and the country's economy was near facing the serious economic default
. Sartaj Aziz, an economist and Foreign Minister
, and his economics team then briefed Nawaz Sharif that if the economy reaches to the financial default, the terms for the CTBT and NPT
would be exercised more tougher on Pakistan, if Pakistan seeks a Bailout plan from the World Bank
, the IMF, and the Asian Development Bank
, or even the United States.
The economy
was already deteriorated, Aziz's team was quickly taking the steps to control the economy. Prime minister Sharif ordered his Finance minister, Sartaj Aziz
, to freeze the low foreign exchange reserves. Aziz then asserted that such act would lead to an extreme financial default. Insead, Aziz offered the investors to sell their shares at rate of 46PKR, which was 2PKR was more that time, to the Government in order to avoid the financial default. This resulted in improving the control of the economy and Nawaz Sharif government then gained the control of the economy. Sharif then suspended his capitalist policies and made a move to introduced the socialist economics
policies, previously introduced by former Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1970s. Sartaz Aziz was replaced by Sharif as he opposed Sharif's plans to divert an economic recession by taking such steps. Aziz was made Foreign minister and was succedeed by Dr. Ishaq Dar
, a career professor of economist who took this daunting charge.
In all, the United States had suspend the economical aid to the Pakistan, but continued the limited economical aid to Pakistan on humanitarian basis. Increasingly, the composition of assistance to Pakistan shifted away from grants toward loans repayable in foreign exchange. All new U.S. additional economic assistance to Pakistan was suspended in May 1998. The sanctions were lifted by President George W. Bush after Pakistan President General Musharraf allied Pakistan with the U.S. in its war on terror. Having improved its finances, the government refused further IMF assistance, and consequently the IMF program was ended.
Underground nuclear testing
Underground nuclear testing refers to test detonations of nuclear weapons that are performed underground. When the device being tested is buried at sufficient depth, the explosion may be contained, with no release of radioactive materials to the atmosphere....
nuclear tests
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
conducted by Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
at 15:15hrs
Hours
Hours may refer to:* The plural of the unit of time, hour* an expression of time using the 24-hour clock system * Horae , Greek deities* Hours, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a commune in France...
(3:15p.m. PST
Pakistan Standard Time
Pakistan Time is the time zone for Pakistan. It is 5 hours ahead of GMT/UTC .The only tz database zone is Asia/Karachi.-History:The current Pakistan time was set up at midnight between 29 September and 30 1951...
) in 28th May of 1998. It was named Chagai-I, as the tests were conducted in the Chagai District
Chagai District
Chaghi/Chagai is the largest district of Pakistan and is located on the north west corner of Balochistan, Pakistan. It forms a triangular border with Afghanistan and Iran.Pakistan conducted a nuclear weapons test in 1998 at Ras Koh Hills Chagai District....
(Baluchistan province
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
). The Chagai-I — a nuclear test operation — was carried out in response to India's Operation Shakti
Pokhran-II
Pokharan-II refers to test explosions of five nuclear devices, three on 11 May and two on 13 May 1998, conducted by India at the Pokhran test range. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states....
nuclear tests on May 11 and May 13th of 1998. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172, adopted unanimously on June 6, 1998, after hearing of nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan in May 1998, the Council condemned the tests and demanded that both countries refrain from engaging in further tests.-Resolution:The Security Council...
of economic sanctions
Economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are domestic penalties applied by one country on another for a variety of reasons. Economic sanctions include, but are not limited to, tariffs, trade barriers, import duties, and import or export quotas...
against both Pakistan and India by a number of major states, particularly the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. With simultaneous atomic testing of these five nuclear devices, Pakistan, thus became the 7th country in the world to successfully develop and publicly test nuclear weapons.
Birth of Pakistan's atomic weapons programme
The scientific research on atomic weapons was authorized and initiated by Zulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
on January 20th of 1972, two weeks after the disastrous Indo-Pakistani Winter war
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
. The nuclear deterrent development
Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction
Pakistan began focusing on nuclear weapons development in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who delegated the program to the Chairman of PAEC Munir Ahmad Khan...
was exercised in under complete control of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
who came into the political power, and assumed the control of his country, days after the recent war. The Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
and the Indo-Pakistan 1971 Winter war
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
was an unforgettable war and lesson to the Pakistani political and military establishment
Establishment (Pakistan)
The Establishment is a term used commonly by Pakistani political scientists and also by political scholars and analysts around the world for the powerful military-dominant oligarchy in Pakistan...
. For Pakistan, it was a complete and humiliating defeat, a psychological setback that came from a defeat at the hands of intense rival India. Pakistan lost half its territory, a significant portion of its economy and its geo-political role in South Asia. Pakistan failed to gather any moral and foreign support even from her allies, particularly the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, and the Two-Nation Theory
Two-Nation Theory
The Two-Nation Theory proposed by Allama Iqbal is the ideology that the primary identity of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent is their religion, rather than their language or ethnicity, and therefore Indian Hindus and Muslims are two distinct nationalities, regardless of ethnic or other...
was brutally failed. Since the Partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, the physical existence Pakistan seemed to be in great mortal danger and quite obviously could rely on no one but itself. The legacy of the 1971 War has left deep scars in Pakistan's civil society as well as leaving the political and military misery.
The 1971 Winter war had played a crucial and groundbreaking role in the hearts of Pakistani scientists who had also witnessed the war, such as Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
and Dr. Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was "obsessed" with Indian nuclear efforts, orchestrated and initiated the programme after chairing a meeting at Multan. The weapons research program, at an early stage, was headed by world renowned scientist and Nobel Laureate in Physics Dr. Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
, as he was the head of Theoretical Physics Group and Mathematical Physics Group at PAEC. Dr. Abdus Salam, who as Science adviser to the Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
, led the nuclear weapon research under his supervision and guidance until 1974. In January 1972, Bhutto called nuclear engineer Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
from International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
(IAEA) to lead the program administratively while Bhutto controlled the program as the political administrative figure. Along with Prof. Salam, Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
increased the diameter of scientific research throughout the country. In PAEC, Salam established research divisions and groups that took charge to carry out the physics and mathematical calculations regarding to the development of the weapon.
The former Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
, who is widely remembered in the world as the "Father of Pakistan's atomic weapons program", for his administrative and active role in the development and initiation of the weapons program. While the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
's chairman Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
, is often regarded as the "technical father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program", Munir Ahmed Khan headed the scientific research program under extreme secrecy, and supervised confidential research and development for almost two decades. Under Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
, the academic scientists developed the program ingeniously, and heavily contributed in their respected fields. The research to developed the atomic bomb began in a meeting called by Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
and Abdus Salam in March 1974 where mechanical engineer Hafeez Kureshi
Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi
Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi , Neuclear Physics. SI, HI, , also known as Hafeez Qureshi, was a Pakistani Nuclear Scientist...
was made head of the "Wah Group". A new Directorate of Technical Development (DTD) was set up to coordinate work on the various specialized groups working in PAEC on the design, development, and testing of nuclear weapons.
The 1974 Indian atomic test (See Operation Smiling Buddha) at the Pokhran
Pokhran
Pokhran is a city and a municipality located in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation.-Geography:Pokhran http://marupradesh.org/ located at...
in 1974 spurred the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
picked up its speed to developed atomic weapon programs under the three to five years. In July 1976, Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
who was then working as a senior scientist at the URENCO Group
Urenco Group
The URENCO Group is a nuclear fuel company operating several uranium enrichment plants in Germany, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It supplies nuclear power stations in about 15 countries, and has a 25% share of the global market for enrichment services...
also joined the program, where Qadeer Khan, along with renowned military engineer Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant General (Pakistan)
Pakistan Army has followed British Army rank system since its independence from British Empire in 1947. However, the crown in the ranks has been replaced with a star and crescent, which symbolizes the sovereignty of Government of Pakistan....
Zahid Ali Akbar founded the then-Engineering Research Laboratories. The ERL led the successful enrichment of Uranium in a record time. The enrichment project was started in 1976, and a milestone in isotope separation was done in 1978. In 1981, the ERL produces first batch of HEU
Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
fuel.
On March 11, 1983, a milestone was done when PAEC
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
led by Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
carried out the first cold test of a working nuclear device, codename Kirana-I. This was followed by 24 more cold tests by PAEC
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
in which different weapon designs were tested and improved. It was the DTD that carried out the cold tests and the hot tests in 1998 at Chagai. After decades of covertly building and developing the atomic program and the related atomic devices. Pakistan under the leadership of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Näväz Scharief
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
, tested its six underground nuclear devices in Chagai Hills
Chagai Hills
The Chagai Hills is a range of granite hills in the Chagai District in Pakistan's Balochistan province.-Location:The Chagai Hills lie in a desert area in the northernmost part of Chagai District north of Pakistan's Ras Koh Hills and south of Afghanistan's Helmand and Nimruz provinces.- Topography...
.
Preparation for Atomic Tests
Plans to conduct an atomic test started in 1976 when Pakistan Atomic Energy CommissionPakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(PAEC) research scientists frequently visiting the area to find a suitable location for an underground nuclear test, preferably a granite mountain
Granite Mountain
Granite Mountain can refer to:*One of 57 mountain summits in the United States:**Granite Mountain **Granite Mountain **Granite Mountain **Granite Mountain...
. After a long survey, the PAEC scientists chose the granite mountain Koh Kambaran in the Ras Koh Hills range in the Chagai Division of Baluchistan in 1978. Its highest point rises to a height of 3,009 metres (sources vary). The then-martial law administrator of the province, General Rahimuddin Khan
Rahimuddin Khan
Rahimuddin Khan Afridi is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who was the fourth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987. He was also the longest-serving Governor and martial law administrator of Balochistan, from 1978 to when he resigned in 1984...
, spearheaded the construction of the potential test sites throughout the 1980s.
In March 2005, the former Pakistan Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
said Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
may have had an atomic weapon long before, and her father
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
had told her from his prison cell
Prison cell
A prison cell or holding cell or lock-up is a small room in a prison, or police station where a prisoner is held.Prison cells are usually about 6 by 8 feet in size with steel or brick walls and one solid or barred door that locks from the outside. Many modern prison cells are pre-cast. Solid doors...
that preparations for a nuclear test had been made in 1977, and he expected to have an atomic test of a nuclear device in August 1977. However, the plan was moved on to December 1977 and later it was delayed indefinitely. In an interview with Geo TV
Geo TV
Geo TV or Geo Television is a Pakistani television network, founded by Mr. Mir Shakil ur Rehman in May 2002 and owned by Independent Media Corporation. The channel began test transmission on 14 August 2002, with regular transmission beginning 1 October 2002...
, Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand , , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, who served as the founding chairman of National Engineering and Scientific Commission from 2001 till 2007. Samar Mubarak-Mand launched the Missile Integration Programme in 1987 which was successfully completed in 2005...
of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, has said that the team of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission developed the design of atomic bomb in 1978 and had successfully conducted a cold test
Cold fission
Cold fission or cold nuclear fission is defined as involving fission events for which fission fragments have such low excitation energy that no neutrons or gammas are emitted....
after developing the first atomic bomb in 1983.
The exact origin of the name is unknown, but it is often attributed to the weapon-testing laboratory leader dr. Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
as a reference to the Chagai Hills, in spite of no nuclear experiments were performed at the vicinity of this site. It is generally believed that the codename was given in the honor of the Chagai Hills in an attempt that it would not attract international and national attention of the world at where the exact tests were actually performed. On April 2010, Nawaz Sharif, at a public function to celebrate nuclear blasts, said the then-U.S President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
offered a package of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5 billion for not carrying out nuclear blasts and warned about imposition of ban otherwise. Nawaz said that he was in Kazakhstan in a visit to meet the President
President of Kazakhstan
President of Kazakhstan is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Kazakhstan. The authorities of this position are described in special section of Constitution of Kazakhstan....
, Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...
, when India tested its nuclear device. The entire nation was united in favour of nuclear blasts and Mushahid Hussain
Mushahid Hussain
Mushahid Hussain Sayed , is a Pakistani Political journalist and conservative politician who is the current Secretary General of the center-right and moderate conservative Pakistan Muslim League .-Education:...
was the first person who advice that nuclear blasts should be carried out in reply of Indian nuclear explosions
Pokhran-II
Pokharan-II refers to test explosions of five nuclear devices, three on 11 May and two on 13 May 1998, conducted by India at the Pokhran test range. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states....
. In 1999, in an interview given to Pakistani and Indian journalists in Islamabad, Sharif had said: If India had not exploded the bomb, Pakistan would not have done so. Once New Delhi did so, We [Sharif Government] had no choice because of public pressure.
Atomic Devices and Test Yields
The PAECPakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
carried out five underground nuclear tests at the Chagai test site at 3:16 p.m. (PST
Pakistan Standard Time
Pakistan Time is the time zone for Pakistan. It is 5 hours ahead of GMT/UTC .The only tz database zone is Asia/Karachi.-History:The current Pakistan time was set up at midnight between 29 September and 30 1951...
) on the afternoon of May 28, 1998.
The total maximum yield of the tests was reported to be 40 kilotons of TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...
, with the largest device yielding 30–35 kilotons. Western seismologists estimated the yield of the largest device to be no greater than 12 kilotons, leading U.S. nuclear weapons expert David Albright
David Albright
David Albright, M.S., is the founder of the non-governmental Institute for Science and International Security , its current president, and author of several books on proliferation of atomic weapons. Albright holds a Master of Science in physics from Indiana University and a M.Sc. in mathematics...
to doubt Pakistani claims. Following the tests, the then Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Navaz Scharief
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
addressed the nation via Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's government channel PTV and congratulated the entire nation and days of celebration followed throughout Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Scientific data received by PAEC, it appears that Pakistan did not tested a thermonuclear device, as oppose to India. According to Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
, the PAEC had no plan to developed the three-stage thermonuclear device because of the economical reasons, even though back in 1974, Riazuddin did proposed the plan to Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
, Director of Theoretical Physics Group that time. From outset, the PAEC concentrated to developed smaller but tactical nuclear weapons easily installed in PAF
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
's aircraft, naval
Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
combatant vessels, and the missiles.
As oppose to India's thermonuclear approach, dr. N.M. Butt
Noor Muhammad Butt
Noor Muhammad Butt , , , best known as "Dr. N. M. Butt", is a Pakistani nuclear physicist and an International Centre for Theoretical Physics laureate who received the ICTP Prize in 1970 and in 1979, in the honor of Dr...
, senior scientist, stated that PAEC built a sufficient numbers of neutron bomb
Neutron bomb
A neutron bomb or enhanced radiation weapon or weapon of reinforced radiation is a type of thermonuclear weapon designed specifically to release a large portion of its energy as energetic neutron radiation rather than explosive energy...
s — a battle-field weapon, which is essentially a low yield device.
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
- Ishfaq AhmadIshfaq AhmadIshfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
, Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy CommissionPakistan Atomic Energy CommissionThe Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(PAEC). - Samar MubarakmandSamar MubarakmandSamar Mubarakmand , , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, who served as the founding chairman of National Engineering and Scientific Commission from 2001 till 2007. Samar Mubarak-Mand launched the Missile Integration Programme in 1987 which was successfully completed in 2005...
, Member (Technical), Pakistan Atomic Energy CommissionPakistan Atomic Energy CommissionThe Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
. - Anwar AliAnwar Ali (scientist)Anwar Ali, born: 1945 in Lahore, British Punjab State, British Indian Empire, , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 2006 till 2009...
, Directorate of Technical Equipment (DTE). - Hafeez Qureshi, Head of Directorate of Technical Development (DTD)
- N.A. Javed, Director of Directorate of Quality Assurance (DQA).
- Irfan Burney, Director of Directorate of Technical Procurement (DTP).
- I.A. Bhatty, Director of Directorate of Industrial Liaison (DIL)
- Tariq Salija, Director of the Radiation and Isotope Applications Division (RIAD).
- Muhammad Jameel, Director of Directorate of Science and Engineering Services (DSES)
- Muhammad Arshad, the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO).
Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL)
- Abdul Qadeer KhanAbdul Qadeer KhanAbdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
, Director General of Khan Research LaboratoriesKhan Research LaboratoriesThe Khan Research Laboratories ,, formerly known as Engineering Research Laboratories , is a multi-program Pakistan's weapons science and engineering research and development institute and nuclear research facility...
(KRL). - M. Nasim Khan, Director of Material Science and Engineering Division (MSE).
- S. Mansoor Ahmed, Director of Uranium Enrichment Technology Division (UET).
- Fakhr Hashmi, Director of Molecular-Laser Enrichment Technology Division (MLET).
- Javed Ashraf Mirza, Director of ControlControl engineeringControl engineering or Control systems engineering is the engineering discipline that applies control theory to design systems with predictable behaviors...
and Guidance Division (CGD). - Tasneem M. ShahTasneem M. ShahTasneem M. Shah, Ph.D., SI, TI, is a Pakistani scientist and a prominent mathematician who has made pioneering and instrumental research and contributions to the field of computational fluid dynamics at Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories...
, Director of Computational Fluid Dynamics Division (CFD).
Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers (PACE)
- LGen Zulfikar Ali Khan — Engineer-in-ChiefEngineer-in-Chief (Pakistan Army)Engineer-in-Chief or E-in-C, is a Colonel Commandant of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, Frontier Works Organisation and the Military Engineering Services of Pakistan...
of the Pakistan Army Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and the System and Combat EngineeringCombat engineeringA combat engineer, also called pioneer or sapper in many armies, is a soldier who performs a variety of construction and demolition tasks under combat conditions...
Division of the Pakistan Army Corps of EngineersPakistan Army Corps of EngineersThe Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, , is an active military administrative staff corps, and a major science and technology command of the Pakistan Army...
Reaction in Pakistan
The Directorate of Technical Development of PAECPakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
which carried out the Chagai tests issued the following statement soon after the tests:
Effects on Science in Pakistan
On this day, Pakistani scientists earned national renowned in Pakistan, with Media of Pakistan projecting their biographies all over the country. Senior scientists and engineers were invited by the numbers of academic institutes and universities to deliver lectures on mathematicalMathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
, nuclear
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
and particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
. The institutes bestowed hundreds of silver
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
and gold medallion
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s and honorary doctorates to the scientists and engineers in 1998. Professor Abdus Salam (1926-1996) was also celebrated in Pakistan and Government of Pakistan released a commemorative stamp in the honor of Salam. In 1998, the theory of electroweak
Electroweak interaction
In particle physics, the electroweak interaction is the unified description of two of the four known fundamental interactions of nature: electromagnetism and the weak interaction. Although these two forces appear very different at everyday low energies, the theory models them as two different...
and its discovery two decade ago by Salam, was also celebrated nationwide for which Abdus Salam was awarded the Physics's Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
in 1979. In 1999, Government established Abdus Salam's museum in National Center for Physics, where his contribution to scientific programs and efforts were publicly recorded and televised. The May 28th has been officially declared as Youm-e-Takbeer (Day of Greatness) to commemorate and remembrance of the first five tests that were carried out in May 28, and as well as National Science Day in Pakistan to honor and remembrance the scientific efforts led by scientists to developed the devices. The day was officially signed by the then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
. The day is celebrated by giving awards (such as Chagai-Medal) to various individuals and industries in the field of science and industries. The Nawaz Sharif Government also established the Chagai-I Medal and it was first awarded to the scientists of Pakistan in 1998 who were witnessed the tests. The graphite mountains are visibly shown in the gold medallion and equal ribbon stripes of yellow, red and white.
Global Reactions
Pakistan's tests were condemned by the international community. The United Nations Security CouncilUnited Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
adopted Resolution 1172
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172, adopted unanimously on June 6, 1998, after hearing of nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan in May 1998, the Council condemned the tests and demanded that both countries refrain from engaging in further tests.-Resolution:The Security Council...
condemning the Indian test and that of Pakistan's. Brazil declared that it "deplores" Pakistan's decision to carry out the tests. In an official statement on May 28, 1998, the French Foreign Ministry
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...
denounced India's five nuclear tests. French President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
implored Pakistan to abstain from further testing. Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Pakistan's strategic ally also criticized the tests, with a formal statement by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mahmoud Mohammadi expressing deep concern at Pakistan's nuclear proliferation. Robin Cook
Robin Cook
Robert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Livingston from 1983 until his death, and notably served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001....
, Britain's foreign secretary, expressed dismay at the tests. Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, the secretary general of the United Nations, deplored the tests saying that "they exacerbate tension in an already difficult relationship".
The United Nations Security Council condemned Pakistan's five nuclear tests. "The council strongly deplores the underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan despite international calls for restraint," said a statement from Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
's Njugumu Moses Mahugu, president of the 15-member council. While France, Israel, and Russian globally supported Indian's stand on testing nuclear devices. Pakistan founded difficult to gather support even from its long term allies. Pakistan's strategic allies Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
did not supported Pakistan while neither issued any statement. The tests brought Pakistan in an extensive Foreign policy deadlock, with no foreign support was found. Pakistan, since 1971 disaster
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
, failed to gather any support and a Foreign policy turmoil continued until Navaz Sharif was deposed in 1999.
At a news conference May 28, 1998, United States President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
condemned Pakistan's nuclear tests saying, "I deplore the decision." He also promised to reprimand Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
with the same sanctions the United States has imposed on India." Clinton also signed off on economic sanctions against Pakistan that prohibited billions of dollars in loans from multilateral institutions.
NATO said that the tests were a "dangerous development" and also warned of sanctions.
Economic effects
The United Nations Security CouncilUnited Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
adopted Resolution 1172
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172, adopted unanimously on June 6, 1998, after hearing of nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan in May 1998, the Council condemned the tests and demanded that both countries refrain from engaging in further tests.-Resolution:The Security Council...
condemning the Indian test and that of Pakistan's. United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, imposed economical sanctions on Pakistan. The Japanese government had called its Ambassador from Pakistan, and suspend its foreign relations with Pakistan. During the time of nuclear testing, it was reported that Pakistan had only $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 Billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
in its national treasure
State Bank of Pakistan
The State Bank of Pakistan is the central bank of Pakistan. While its constitution, as originally laid down in the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until January 1, 1974, when the bank was nationalized, the scope of its functions was considerably enlarged...
, and India had reported by be $29Billion in its State Bank
State Bank of India
The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...
. By comparing to Pakistan's economy, the sanctions imposed by Resolution 1172, was exerted only with marginal effects on India’s economy and technological progress. The IMF had suspend $3Billion aid to Pakistan, and the country's economy was near facing the serious economic default
Sovereign default
A sovereign default is the failure or refusal of the government of a sovereign state to pay back its debt in full. It may be accompanied by a formal declaration of a government not to pay or only partially pay its debts , or the de facto cessation of due payments...
. Sartaj Aziz, an economist and Foreign Minister
Foreign Minister of Pakistan
The Foreign Minister of Pakistan heads the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The current Foreign Minister is Hina Rabbani Khar who took office as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on 11 February 2011, and as full Minister of Foreign Affairs on 20 July, 2011...
, and his economics team then briefed Nawaz Sharif that if the economy reaches to the financial default, the terms for the CTBT and NPT
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to...
would be exercised more tougher on Pakistan, if Pakistan seeks a Bailout plan from the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, the IMF, and the Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
, or even the United States.
The economy
Economy of Pakistan
The economy of Pakistan is the 47th largest in the world in nominal terms and 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity . Pakistan has a semi-industrialized economy, which mainly encompasses textiles, chemicals, food processing, agriculture and other industries...
was already deteriorated, Aziz's team was quickly taking the steps to control the economy. Prime minister Sharif ordered his Finance minister, Sartaj Aziz
Sartaj Aziz
Sartaj Aziz , PhD, is a world recognized Pakistani economist, peace and Pakistan Movement activist currently serving as a Senator from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province to Senate Secretariat...
, to freeze the low foreign exchange reserves. Aziz then asserted that such act would lead to an extreme financial default. Insead, Aziz offered the investors to sell their shares at rate of 46PKR, which was 2PKR was more that time, to the Government in order to avoid the financial default. This resulted in improving the control of the economy and Nawaz Sharif government then gained the control of the economy. Sharif then suspended his capitalist policies and made a move to introduced the socialist economics
Socialist economics
Socialist economics are the economic theories and practices of hypothetical and existing socialist economic systems.A socialist economy is based on public ownership or independent cooperative ownership of the means of production, wherein production is carried out to directly produce use-value,...
policies, previously introduced by former Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1970s. Sartaz Aziz was replaced by Sharif as he opposed Sharif's plans to divert an economic recession by taking such steps. Aziz was made Foreign minister and was succedeed by Dr. Ishaq Dar
Ishaq Dar
Mohammad Ishaq Dar is a Pakistani Economist and currently serving as the Senator of the Pakistan Muslim League to the Senate Secretariat of Pakistan. He is the current Parliamentary leader to the Senate Secretariat and also served as the former Finance & Commerce Minister of Pakistan...
, a career professor of economist who took this daunting charge.
In all, the United States had suspend the economical aid to the Pakistan, but continued the limited economical aid to Pakistan on humanitarian basis. Increasingly, the composition of assistance to Pakistan shifted away from grants toward loans repayable in foreign exchange. All new U.S. additional economic assistance to Pakistan was suspended in May 1998. The sanctions were lifted by President George W. Bush after Pakistan President General Musharraf allied Pakistan with the U.S. in its war on terror. Having improved its finances, the government refused further IMF assistance, and consequently the IMF program was ended.
Historical Overview
- Zulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
, Prime minister and colloquially known as the father of nuclear weapons programme. - Navaz SharifNawaz SharifMian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
, Pakistan's Prime Minister at that time, - Abdus SalamAbdus SalamMohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
, embarked the nuclear weapons program and director of Theoretical Physics Division - Riazuddin, designer of Pakistan's thermo-nuclear devices.
- Asghar QadirAsghar QadirAsghar Qadir , HI, SI, FPAS, is a renowned Pakistani mathematician and a prominent cosmologist, specialized in Mathematical physics and Physical cosmology. He is considered as one of the top mathematicians in Pakistan...
, led mathematical calculations involved in the nuclear devices. - Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
, technical director and developed Pakistan's nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear weapons and energy programs. - Ishfaq AhmadIshfaq AhmadIshfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
, nuclear weapon designer and the Chairman of PAEC at that time. - Abdul Qadeer KhanAbdul Qadeer KhanAbdul Qadeer Khan , also known in Pakistan as Mohsin-e-Pakistan , D.Eng, Sc.D, HI, NI , FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q...
, developed the Centrifuge technology used in enriching uranium hexafluoride gas for Pakistan. - Samar MubarakmandSamar MubarakmandSamar Mubarakmand , , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, who served as the founding chairman of National Engineering and Scientific Commission from 2001 till 2007. Samar Mubarak-Mand launched the Missile Integration Programme in 1987 which was successfully completed in 2005...
, Director of Fast-Neutron Physics Group and supervised the atomic tests at Chagai - Operation ShaktiPokhran-IIPokharan-II refers to test explosions of five nuclear devices, three on 11 May and two on 13 May 1998, conducted by India at the Pokhran test range. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states....
– India's nuclear test on May 11, 1998 - Chagai-II- Pakistan's second nuclear test on May 30, 1998
- Pakistan and Nuclear Weapons
- List of countries with nuclear weapons