Nuclear Pakistan - credit where it is due

[peagle]

Please stop your anti AQ Khan slander and wild accusations-" A.Q. Khan always wanted Pakistan to work only on Uranium weapon as compared to Plutonium because (he thought and tried to convince Gen Zia) Plutonium route involved highly complex and sophisticated procedures and processes but PAEC knew better. "

The key ingredient for Pakistan's success was ISI and other agencies who rose up to the challenge and worked their magic. The workings of ISI could make a hundred Hollywood movies and they are a mysterious lot, like the guy below:-

View attachment 674439

Sorry but you are sorely mistaken.
Pakistans nuclear program is a prime example of when Pakistan worked as a nation.
Everyone, I mean everyone played their part, no single agency or individual play an extraordinary role, they were all extraordinary.

The civilians, politicians, civil servants, the military, intelligence agencies, the diplomats, they and more, everyone played their part. And, for the record it was a civilian-led program, army or ISI were not involved until Zia came to power, even then the lead was always by the civilians. we should be proud of the fact that we worked and achieved as a nation, rather than trying to push forward any individual or any institution.

Please read,
Eating Grass, the making of the Pakistani Bomb
by Feroz Hassan Khan

It is beautifully written, the only definitive book on the Pakistani nuclear program,
highly recommended.

 

[khansaheeb]

Sorry but you are sorely mistaken.
Pakistans nuclear program is a prime example of when Pakistan worked as a nation.
Everyone, I mean everyone played their part, no single agency or individual play an extraordinary role, they were all extraordinary.

The civilians, politicians, civil servants, the military, intelligence agencies, the diplomats, they and more, everyone played their part. And, for the record it was a civilian-led program, army or ISI were not involved until Zia came to power, even then the lead was always by the civilians. we should be proud of the fact that we worked and achieved as a nation, rather than trying to push forward any individual or any institution.

Please read,
Eating Grass, the making of the Pakistani Bomb
by Feroz Hassan Khan

It is beautifully written, the only definitive book on the Pakistani nuclear program,
highly recommended.

A general always gets credit for winning the war, and Architect gets credited for building a building etc, AQ Khan gets the credit for building the bomb.

 

[peagle]

A general always gets credit for winning the war, and Architect gets credited for building a building etc, AQ Khan gets the credit for building the bomb.

Again, you are being over simplistic.

Please do not base your knowledge and opinions on what you have read in few articles or what people have told you.
Please read the only definitive book written on this subject, there is an entire story behind the bomb, and Khan was merely a part of that story, not even the main character.

By, ignoring everyone who made strong and valid contributions by only highlighting a single person, you and we intentionally disrespect everyone else who spent their lives for Pakistan, that's a lot more then anyone on this forum will ever do.

It is because of all of them, those who worked on our nuclear program, that today we stand as a confident nation. Khan did good things, but he was nothing but a player among many others. Lets not disrespect others, that would be a shame.

 

[khansaheeb]

Again, you are being over simplistic.

Please do not base your knowledge and opinions on what you have read in few articles or what people have told you.
Please read the only definitive book written on this subject, there is an entire story behind the bomb, and Khan was merely a part of that story, not even the main character.

By, ignoring everyone who made strong and valid contributions by only highlighting a single person, you and we intentionally disrespect everyone else who spent their lives for Pakistan, that's a lot more then anyone on this forum will ever do.

It is because of all of them, those who worked on our nuclear program, that today we stand as a confident nation. Khan did good things, but he was nothing but a player among many others. Lets not disrespect others, that would be a shame.

Stop trying to be smart. Whether you like it or not or accept it or not the key and most significant step in the nuke program was nuclear fuel. AQ Khan made it happen, it doesn't matter how he did it the fact is he made it materialise and that's why the hindjews despise him so much. It's not a matter of disrespecting anyone it is a matter of recognition and AQ Khan deserves recognition. But no doubt there are other heroes who contributed in the making of the bomb whose contributions are to classified to be revealed. Any way AQ Khan is the face of Pakistan's nuke program whether he agreed to it or not.

 

[peagle]

Stop trying to be smart. Whether you like it or not or accept it or not the key and most significant step in the nuke program was nuclear fuel. AQ Khan made it happen, it doesn't matter how he did it the fact is he made it materialise and that's why the hindjews despise him so much. It's not a matter of disrespecting anyone it is a matter of recognition and AQ Khan deserves recognition. But no doubt there are other heroes who contributed in the making of the bomb whose contributions are to classified to be revealed. Any way AQ Khan is the face of Pakistan's nuke program whether he agreed to it or not.

Trying to be smart?
Are you feeling OK?
I am telling you what happened and I've told you to read the book yourself, rather then live in a world of fantasies.
How is that trying to be smart?

I have not made any tall claims, you keep repeating simplistic statements that have no links to reality, he played an important role in development of nuclear weapons in Pakistan, but it was a role that was also played by many others. If you recognised it that don't drag it further because this discussion has turned from silly to stupid.

Stop being ridiculous, if you want to have a discussion than discuss facts not opinions.

 

[khansaheeb]

Trying to be smart?
Are you feeling OK?
I am telling you what happened and I've told you to read the book yourself, rather then live in a world of fantasies.
How is that trying to be smart?

I have not made any tall claims, you keep repeating simplistic statements that have no links to reality, he played an important role in development of nuclear weapons in Pakistan, but it was a role that was also played by many others. If you recognised it that don't drag it further because this discussion has turned from silly to stupid.

Stop being ridiculous, if you want to have a discussion than discuss facts not opinions.

Do you agree or disagree that the key step of any nuclear weapons production or nuclear power plants is nuclear fuel? Let's start of with a basic fact discussion since you seem to be parroting on about reality and links.

 

[KurtisBrian]

Sputnik news says a new Chinese built Nuclear power plant was just connected to the Pakistan power grid. NOT bad for a country facing substantial food price increases and shortages.
Poor USA hasn't been able to build a new nuclear power plant for a long time. People still flooding in to the USA to ensure it stays chained and foreign nationals can live off the USD while destroying their own currencies and not repaying debts.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/202103191082397110-pakistan-connects-first-chinese-designed-nuclear-power-plant-to-electrical-grid/

 

[khansaheeb]

Sputnik news says a new Chinese built Nuclear power plant was just connected to the Pakistan power grid. NOT bad for a country facing substantial food price increases and shortages.
Poor USA hasn't been able to build a new nuclear power plant for a long time. People still flooding in to the USA to ensure it stays chained and foreign nationals can live off the USD while destroying their own currencies and not repaying debts.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/202103191082397110-pakistan-connects-first-chinese-designed-nuclear-power-plant-to-electrical-grid/

Well if the US stops squandering money in futile neocon inspired wars then perhaps they could afford nuclear power plants.

 

[peagle]

Do you agree or disagree that the key step of any nuclear weapons production or nuclear power plants is nuclear fuel? Let's start of with a basic fact discussion since you seem to be parroting on about reality and links.

Bhai jaan, ustad gg, special assistant to the prime minister, I do not wish to have a heated argument with a Pakistani brother on a nuclear thread, playing with nuclear weapons is a dangerous thing, I fear no-one except fellow Pakistanis lol

OK, to my knowledge there are only two books that have been written on the subject of Pakistani nuclear weapons, the one I mentioned, which is easy to read because it is beautifully written, the second is by
Naeem Salik - Learning to live with the BOMB,
this one is shorter but harder to read because it is written in an academic format, I had difficulty reading it because it does not flow naturally.

You are trying to lay the basis of the scientific need for a nuclear bomb, to assume that is the only criteria is simply not true. I cannot emphasis enough,
please read the first book at least and you will know. The building of a bomb requires a lot more then the steps in scientific terms, especially in the case of Pakistan. The world tried its hardest to stop us, even during the 1980s, when everyone thinks America looked the other way, it did not, it tried damn hard to stop Pakistan but, no-one could.

Also remember it is not a borrowed or a bought or a gifted bomb, it is a 100% Pakistani bomb, no nation on earth, not even America developed the bomb purely from domestic resource, they had help from the European, German and especially British scientists, the same applies to all others.

The development of our nuclear program is a beautiful journey, that will show you the inherent power and strength of the Pakistani state, it shows you once we get rid of our internal disputes what we are capable of doing, please read the book, please.
I'll admit I am wrong and you are right, if you read that book, it will give the author some royalties, and you will find interesting facts. Me being right or wrong is never my intention because it means nothing, but the truth does.
Stay blessed.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Nuclear Arms is something which has saved Pakistan's integrity since 90's otherwise
It is the most vital Tech gain in term of protecting Pakistan's Sovereignty

The disruption of Infrastructure , development , and economy would have been higher during 2005-2015 period had
we not had Nuclear weapons, the war in Iraq/Afghanistan by foreign powers would have spilled into Pakistan

We did over commit in that period to foreign nation's interest , and not looking at damage to our own economy
for which we never got any real acknowledgement

Enemies of Pakistan are arming up India however conventional arms will not do much against the big Boom Box we have

Example of sale of weapons to India

• Sale of Rafale
• Sale of P8
• Sale of Apache (Advance Gunships)
• Huge stash Heavier Russian Fighter Jets
• Technology transfer (US Companies , Israeli Companies )
• Offers to help complete the Indian failed fighter Jet project
• Offers to buy F15

Based on these dangers , Pakistan must remain on guard
Energy from Nuclear plant should be our next most important Priority

 

[peagle]

If you do not have access to the book,
these are decent videos, enough to give some sort of an insight.

 

[ghazi52]

It all started here, Islamabad................
Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology, Islamabad in late 1960's

 

[ghazi52]

Pakistani Nuclear Program






Amid a bitter rivalry with India, Pakistan became a nuclear power after testing its first bombs in 1998.

Early Years

Atoms for Peace symbol, 1955

Pakistan began its nuclear efforts during the 1950s as an energy program. It was prompted in large part by the United States’ “Atoms for Peace” program, which sought to spread nuclear energy technology across the globe. In 1956, the Pakistani government created the Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) to lead the new program.

The United States gave Pakistan its first reactor—the five megawatt Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor (PARR-1)—in 1962.

During this early period, PAEC chairman Ishrat Usmani devoted government resources to training the next generation of Pakistani scientists. Usmani founded the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Technology (PINSTECH) in 1965 and sent hundreds of young Pakistani students to be trained abroad.

Although Pakistan claimed that its nuclear program was only pursuing peaceful applications of atomic energy, there were signs that its leadership had other intentions. This fact was particularly evident in wake of the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, which ended in a nominal victory for India. “If India builds the bomb, we will eat grass or leaves, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own,” proclaimed then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Weapons Development

In 1971, war once again broke out between India and Pakistan. The conflict began when Pakistan conducted preventative strikes against Indian airfields which nonetheless failed to seriously cripple India’s Air Force. In response, India launched a ground campaign in support of the ongoing secession movement in East Pakistan, which would soon become independent Bangladesh. Pakistan sustained heavy losses, and almost 100,000 Pakistani soldiers were taken prisoner. Within two weeks, Pakistan surrendered.

The humiliation of 1971 was a turning point in Pakistan’s decision to build an atomic bomb. In 1972, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto—soon to be elected Prime Minister—called a meeting in which he instructed top Pakistani scientists to build the bomb. Physicist Munir Ahmad Khan was among the scientists invited to the meeting.

Trained in the United States at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Khan had worked at Argonne National Laboratory and served as head of reactor engineering for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He was quickly named chairman of PAEC and would lead the new direction of Pakistan’s nuclear program.

Around the same time, Pakistan began receiving considerable international support for its nuclear program. Canada, for example, provided a 137-megawatt heavy water nuclear reactor known as Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU).

The reactor was installed at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) and was soon producing weapons grade plutonium. France likewise agreed to supply the Chashma plutonium separation plant.

Nevertheless, the international community cracked down on the proliferation of nuclear materials after India’s first nuclear test in 1974. Canada withdrew its support for Pakistan in 1976, while France never completed the Chashma plant. A plutonium bomb suddenly seemed like a distant reality.

 

[ghazi52]

Project - 706

In December 1974, however, the course of the Pakistani bomb drastically changed with the return of German-trained metallurgist Abdul Qadeer Khan, more commonly known as A. Q. Khan. He had spent the previous four years working for URENCO, a nuclear fuel company, on uranium enrichment plants in the Netherlands and brought his vast knowledge of gas centrifuges to Pakistan.

Although he was never officially head of Pakistan’s nuclear program, Khan played a vital role in its success. In 1976, he was put in charge of the Engineering Research Laboratories in Kahuta, which was later named the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL).

The site of a uranium enrichment plant, KRL offered Pakistan a second path to the bomb via highly enriched uranium (HEU) rather than plutonium. Khan’s laboratory was mostly autonomous from PAEC and the uranium bomb project even had a special codename: Project-706.

Although Project-706 began under Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, his influence over the project was short-lived. In 1977, General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq took power in a coup d’état and hanged Bhutto in 1979. The military took control of the nuclear program and it remains under military control today despite Pakistan later returning to a civilian government.

In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan had a significant impact for Pakistan. Under President Ronald Reagan, the United States gave military support to the Afghan mujahideen to fight the Soviet Union. Pakistan—a neighbor of Afghanistan with crucial supply routes—proved to be an essential ally in this effort. As a result, the United States largely turned a blind eye to the Pakistani nuclear program.

In 1982, for example, Zia made an official visit to the United States. “He’s a good man,” wrote Reagan in his diary. “Gave me his word they were not building an atomic or nuclear bomb. He’s dedicated to helping the Afghans & stopping the Soviets” (Reed and Stillman 249).

In 1985, the U.S. Congress passed the Pressler Amendment, which established a protocol for sanctions against Pakistan if it crossed certain “red lines,” such as manufacturing highly enriched uranium and making a fissionable bomb core. The law was designed to allow the United States to maintain good relations with Pakistan, but it ultimately forced the American government to implement sanctions in the 1990s.

Beginning in the early 1980s, Pakistan conducted a series of “cold tests,” which involved a nuclear device without fissile materials. It conducted over 20 additional cold tests during the next decade. Pakistan also strengthened its alliance with China against India. Among other assistance to Pakistan’s nuclear program, the Chinese government invited Pakistani scientists to Beijing.

On May 26, 1990, China tested a Pakistani bomb (Pak-1) on Pakistan’s behalf at the Lop Nur test site. The so-called “Event No. 35” was most likely a uranium implosion bomb, a derivative of the Chinese CHIC-4 design. Pakistan also reached an agreement with North Korea for Nodong ballistic missiles in exchange for Pakistani uranium enrichment technology.

 

[ghazi52]

Nuclear Tests

Pakistani scientists at the Ras Koh test site, 1998


During the 1990s, Pakistan prepared for possible testing. Project officials selected the Ras Koh Hills in the southwestern Baluchistan province as a test site. Engineers drilled test shafts deep into the ground in preparation. Pakistan also vastly improved its missile technology, developing the Ghauri medium-range ballistic missile, a derivate of the North Korean Nodong.


Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif faced enormous pressure to authorize nuclear tests after India conducted its own tests in May 1998. “We in Pakistan will maintain a balance with India in all fields,” said Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan, a proponent of testing. “We are in a headlong arms race on the subcontinent.” International leaders, however, called on Sharif not to respond to the Indian tests. The United States even offered a repeal of the Pressler Amendment and additional military aid should Pakistan refrain from testing.

Chagai-I nuclear test


In the end, however, Pakistani officials went ahead with preparations for the test—codenamed Chagai-I—when Sharif gave the order “Dhamaka kar dein” (conduct the explosion). A military escort flew the bomb parts to Ras Koh, where they were assembled and placed in the test shafts along with diagnostic cables.

On May 28, 1998—less than three weeks after India’s nuclear tests—Pakistan exploded its first devices at the Ras Koh test site. “Today, we have settled a score and have carried out five successful nuclear tests,” announced Sharif. With a total yield of 9 kilotons, however, there is some debate about how many bombs were actually tested (Reed and Stillman 257).

Two days later, Pakistan conducted an additional test, Chagai-II.