Pakistan Expanding Nuclear Program

[RAPTOR]

Nobody in India is going to be overly concerned.But if somebody in Hill is going to be then we shall do our best to help.
.

Uproar over Pak's N-programme

NEW DELHI, JUL 26 (PTI)
Pakistan's nuclear programme today sparked uproar in the Rajya Sabha leading to its adjournment for 30 minutes.

Raising the issue of Pakistan's plans to have a nuclear reactor that could generate plutonium for up to 50 atomic bombs a year, opposition NDA members expressed concern over the development and sought a response from the government.
They were joined by members of Samajwadi Party which extends outside support to the UPA.
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was present in the House, said there could not be an instant reply for everything. "It cannot be like instant coffee", he said before leaving the House. This triggered angry protests from BJP and SP members who rushed into the well creating bedlam for 15 minutes leading to adjournment of the House for half-an-hour.

http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=401789

 

[araz]

Uproar over Pak's N-programme

NEW DELHI, JUL 26 (PTI)
Pakistan's nuclear programme today sparked uproar in the Rajya Sabha leading to its adjournment for 30 minutes.

Raising the issue of Pakistan's plans to have a nuclear reactor that could generate plutonium for up to 50 atomic bombs a year, opposition NDA members expressed concern over the development and sought a response from the government.
They were joined by members of Samajwadi Party which extends outside support to the UPA.
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was present in the House, said there could not be an instant reply for everything. "It cannot be like instant coffee", he said before leaving the House. This triggered angry protests from BJP and SP members who rushed into the well creating bedlam for 15 minutes leading to adjournment of the House for half-an-hour.

http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=401789

AsSalam o Alaikum,
Brothers if this facility has been built since 2000 and details of the site have been exchanged with the Indians, I fail to see why they are getting their nickers in a twist. It is not Pakistan, which is involved in a pact with US for latest nuclear technology access, nor have we raised any other concerns other than the opportunity to be considered the equals of India with regards to Technology transfer. If their intelligence has been sleeping, it is not our fault. The fact remains that Pakistan has as much right to advancement to any technology as anybody else. If the Indians want to stop this nuclear buildup, they should solve Kashmir problem justly, and then sign a friendship treaty. But howling like a dog with its tail caught in a trap is hardly going to help. We know that the world sees Pakistan and India in different light, but that does not deter us from development.Its high time the Indians got their act together and stopped behaving like a crybaby. I am not flaming anybody on the forum, but I have had enough of this ranting, so apologies to any body in advance if they have been offended.
Araz

 

[Spring Onion]

Araz well said

Now guys herez another dimension to all this new pressur tactic by some US elements ( probbly Indian lobby).

Pakistan clearly refused to side with US over Iran unlike India right! only few days (3 or 4 ) days back Musharraf talked to Ahmadinejad over phone over the situation in the region right!

Now it seemed these elemnts have out of nowhere got hold of this new topic at a time when the F-16s deal and Indo-US nuke deal is in the limelight right! :smile:

On the one hand anti-Pakistan lobby is trying to halt the F0-16s supply by any mean and on the other to create an impression that in such a situation US-Indo deal could be cleared soon.

In all this situation the Indian media and uproar by her reps are acting like a US mouth piece to falm it further as Samudra said.

 

[KashifAsrar]

To check details from ISIS...
Click here

 

[Neo]

Pak plutonium is an old Chinese story

http://www.hindustantimes.com/on/img/0.gif
Anupam Srivastava
http://www.hindustantimes.com/on/img/0.gif
July 24, 2006http://www.hindustantimes.com/on/img/0.gif

Pakistan's Khushab nuclear research complex is likely to come under intense international scrutiny following a report that included satellite imagery indicating construction of a 1000 MW heavy water reactor that could generate enough plutonium to produce 40 to 50 nuclear warheads per year.
This second reactor, that could begin operating in 5 years, would be in addition to the 50 MW reactor commissioned in 1988. It could substantially boost the number of plutonium-based weapons in the Pakistani arsenal that currently is predominantly comprised of enriched uranium based bombs.

The report will revive demands for speeding-up the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, raise the bogey of rising nuclear dangers in South Asia and will arm critics of the proposed US-India nuclear deal.

A few facts need to be kept in mind in assessing the nonproliferation and strategic implications of the new reactor.

* First, construction of this facility at Khushab began in 2000, well before the US-India deal was first proposed.

* Second, Pakistan's exploration of plutonium to produce weapons grade fissile material had been sanctioned under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the mid-1970s, and revived and expanded in the late 1980s under Zia ul Haq. But the problems in mastering this complex technology explain the delay in operating this second avenue to generate bomb grade fissile material.

* Third, these bombs weigh a lot less because the amount of plutonium required is only about a third of the amount of enriched uranium required to build a uranium based bomb.
They are more compact, making them easier to mount on the cone of a missile or aircraft for delivery. That is why Pakistan, whose missile programme has received substantial assistance from China and North Korea over the past 15 years, is pursuing these lighter bombs.
This will enhance Pakistan's strike options regarding India, especially when mounted on its solid-fuel based missiles which are more accurate and require less time to fuel and arm.

* Fourth, China's assistance to Pakistan's nuclear programme was revived again following Premier Wen Jiabao's trip to Islamabad in April 2004, including building 1 or 2 power plants at Chashma. This came in the wake of China joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group and was received with strong skepticism by other members. Chashma opened the way for an indeterminate amount of Chinese assistance, possibly extending to Khushab complex as well.

Continued Sino-Pakistani clo-seness is attested by the fact China is the only P-5 and NSG member that has backed Pakistan's quest for a deal similar to the US-India nuclear deal. China is also the only P-5 member to have not officially clarified whether it has stopped producing weapons grade fissile material.

China delayed FMCT talks at the Conference on Disarmament in 2001-03 by insisting progress on FMCT be linked to negotiating the Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space treaty.

Finally, while Washington was well aware of the new construction at Khushab, it has refused to apply pressure on the Musharraf regime for fear of losing its support in prosecuting the war on terror in Afghanistan and beyond.

Pakistan's nuclear weapons build-up is independent of the US-India nuclear deal. Instead it should be pressed to stop using brinkmanship in its nuclear policy. India and Pakistan could look at technical confidence building measures to enhance crisis stability and reduce regional nuclear dangers.

http://photo.worldnews.com/PhotoArchive//2006/07/25/6f8d402a7f93be1ff4b7128ed614cafc-large.jpg

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/7598_1752173,000500020000.htm

 

[Neo]

AsSalam o Alaikum,
Brothers if this facility has been built since 2000 and details of the site have been exchanged with the Indians, I fail to see why they are getting their nickers in a twist. It is not Pakistan, which is involved in a pact with US for latest nuclear technology access, nor have we raised any other concerns other than the opportunity to be considered the equals of India with regards to Technology transfer. If their intelligence has been sleeping, it is not our fault. The fact remains that Pakistan has as much right to advancement to any technology as anybody else. If the Indians want to stop this nuclear buildup, they should solve Kashmir problem justly, and then sign a friendship treaty. But howling like a dog with its tail caught in a trap is hardly going to help. We know that the world sees Pakistan and India in different light, but that does not deter us from development.Its high time the Indians got their act together and stopped behaving like a crybaby. I am not flaming anybody on the forum, but I have had enough of this ranting, so apologies to any body in advance if they have been offended.
Araz

Good post Doctor Sahib, well said! :thumbsup:

 

[ali ahmad]

i totally agree with you.indian government is spending a lot of money for lobying about nuclear deal....

they are also doing anti pakistan lobying in the past...its very possible that they are lobbying against f-16 deal for pakistan...

the question is.....where are pakistanis...are they sleeping??? why are they not lobbying??

 

[Neo]

i totally agree with you.indian government is spending a lot of money for lobying about nuclear deal....

they are also doing anti pakistan lobying in the past...its very possible that they are lobbying against f-16 deal for pakistan...

Its part of their foreign - read Pakistan - policy to try to block each and every single success we book on internation stage regardless if it concerns military, civil, economic or political issues.
FMS, MNNA, pak's role in WoT, quota free exports of some items to EU and USA as reward to WoT alliance, accession to ASEAN...all came under scrutiny due powerfull lobby.

the question is.....where are pakistanis...are they sleeping??? why are they not lobbying??

No, we're not!
Actually Pakistani lobby has had more opportunistic approach in this, we usualy don't try to block any deals to India, instead we ask for parity.

 

[Neo]

US to limit sale of military technology to Pakistan: India

New Delhi, July 26th, IRNA

India would continue to engage Washington to limit the sale of advanced military technology to the neighboring country which could be used against India.

Criticizing the US decision to supply 36, F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said, in a reply in Lok Sabha (Lower House), that the government would also continue to modernize and equip the Indian armed forces to deal with all threats to national security.
The statement came in the wake of the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notifying the US Congress last month of a possible sale of 36 F-16C/D Block 50-52 aircraft.

It has also notified its intention to supply 60 mid-life update modification kits and Falcon Star Structure Life Enhancement Kits with associated equipment and services for F-16A/B in Pakistan's inventory.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed his disappointment to US President George W Bush on the American approach to supply the fighters to Pakistan and the government has made it clear that the step was not conducive to improving Indo-Pak ties.

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0607265564175636.htm

 

[RAPTOR]

Araz well said

Now guys herez another dimension to all this new pressur tactic by some US elements ( probbly Indian lobby).

Pakistan clearly refused to side with US over Iran unlike India right! only few days (3 or 4 ) days back Musharraf talked to Ahmadinejad over phone over the situation in the region right!

Now it seemed these elemnts have out of nowhere got hold of this new topic at a time when the F-16s deal and Indo-US nuke deal is in the limelight right! :smile:

On the one hand anti-Pakistan lobby is trying to halt the F0-16s supply by any mean and on the other to create an impression that in such a situation US-Indo deal could be cleared soon.

In all this situation the Indian media and uproar by her reps are acting like a US mouth piece to falm it further as Samudra said.

They broke this news due to the efforts of the hindoostanian lobby to beg their Jewish masters to post it in various newspapers. The thinking went according to some hindoostanians that they would use it to deflect attention from the illegal and dangerous india nuclear deal........and the sale of F-16s to Pakistan. The hindoostanian paid congressmen Tom Lantos and Gary Ackerman have been paid to scream and yell about it in congress....just like Pressler did in the 80's (hes now on the board of directors of Infosys) .

Now...apparently this "news/revelation" has had the opposite effect....much to the fustrations of the hindoostanian lobby. There is now a profound realization that Pakistan needs to be roped in just like hindoostan before it creates a weapons arsenal of 500 to 1000 plutonium based Nuclear weapons that are small enough to be mounted on the BABAR cruise missile. So...i wouldnt be surprised if Pakistan is given a similar deal so it can buy Nuclear Reactors for civilian use as Pakistan is an energy deficient country in urgent need of a clean and bio friendly mode of energy.

 

[Sid]

Please do NOT stray away from the topic at hand. Some of you keep going on and on discussing things and then losing track.

If you have problems comprehending the RULES of this forum, let the Mods know, we will arrange a translation service for you so that you can better get a grasp of them in your native language.

 

[sparten]

I reakky doubt that they would begin construction of such an expensive reactor without having a Plutonium based project ready.

And we went dow the HEW route, only because it was deniable.

 

[Owais]

New nuclear reactor 'safe in our hands': Kasuri
KUALA LUMPUR (updated on: July 29, 2006, 11:02 PST): Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri said a powerful new nuclear reactor under construction was 'safe in our hands' and would not spark an arms race with India.

The United States has urged Islamabad, its close ally in the 'war on terror', not to use the reactor at the Khushab nuclear complex to bolster its atomic weapons capability.

'It's nothing new, the world knows about it, the world knows that it's safe in our hands,' Kasuri told AFP in an interview late on Friday at a meeting of Asia's top security forum in Kuala Lumpur.

"It's five years old, it's nearing completion now, I don't know the timing," added Kasuri, the first senior Pakistani official to talk about the plant.

International observers reacted with alarm after the Washington Post on Monday reported the reactor's existence, citing the US-based International Institute for Science and International Security.

The group said satellite photos showed the heavy water reactor could produce more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of weapons-grade plutonium a year. This would be enough to make 40-50 nuclear weapons every year.

Kasuri, speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum, did not specify whether or not the new nuclear plant in Punjab would be used to produce nuclear weapons.

But he insisted that Pakistan had legislation in place to cover its use and that it abided by international regulations.

"We passed comprehensive export-control legislation, we are adopting the best practices, this is in consonance with the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers' Group) guidelines," he said.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said this week that the United States was aware of the plans, while another US official said Washington had been tracking it for "several years".

Kasuri dismissed suggestions that new atomic plant could spark a fresh arms race with India, saying: "It's nothing new, it's five years old, if it had caused an arms race that was five years ago, not today."

Asked why the giant reactor was needed if Pakistan and India were trying to make peace, he said: "The (nuclear) programme started with India so one might ask them first."

Kasuri said A.Q. Khan's network had been dismantled and he defended Pakistan's refusal to let other countries question him.

"The countries with whom we have co-operated know about the level of co-operation that we have extended with A.Q. Khan," Kasuri said.

"When we have had long questionnaires (about Khan) addressed to us we have responded to them point by point, very meaningfully and effectively."

Meanwhile Kasuri said he was hopeful that senior Indian and Pakistani officials who are set to meet in Dhaka on August 1 would "not miss this opportunity" to get peace talks back on track.

 

[Neo]

Pakistan upgrades nuclear arsenal

Dean Nelson, Delhi

http://images.thetimes.co.uk/images/trans.gifPAKISTAN will soon be able to strike every city in India using a new arsenal of plutonium warheads developed with Chinese help, according to senior generals and defence analysts.

Lieutenant General Talat Masood, a former Pakistani defence minister, said this weekend that his country’s enhanced nuclear capability exposed a “secret arms race”, triggered by rivalry between India and China.

NI_MPU('middle');The scale of Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions was revealed last week in a report by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, which published satellite pictures of a plutonium production site at Khushab in Punjab.
Analysts said the plant included a reactor capable of producing enough plutonium for 50 warheads in a year, more than doubling its current strength. China has an estimated 450 warheads and India has about 100.

The disclosure came as the US House of Representatives ratified President George W Bush’s deal to supply nuclear fuel and technology to India, which could allow it to boost its own production of plutonium warheads.

Plutonium makes lighter, more compact and deadlier weapons than uranium. Pakistan’s new capability will alter the military balance in the region by giving it a “second strike” capability.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they were separated at independence in 1947. In 1987, A Q Khan, the so-called father of Pakistan’s programme, announced that any future conflict could be nuclear. Khan is now under house arrest after helping Iran and Libya to develop nuclear programmes.

Masood said that Indian attempts to keep up with China’s increased nuclear production were causing anxiety in Pakistan and generating pressure to increase its capability. Distrust between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and terrorism made it likely that the arms race would intensify, he added.

“It means self-reliance for Pakistan, which is now more important because the United States is favouring India (in nuclear co-operation),” he said. “It means we can make smaller weapons which are easier to fire at longer range.”

Dr Anupam Shrivastava, director of the Centre for International Trade and Security at the University of Georgia and an adviser on proliferation to the American, Indian and Chinese governments, said: “Unlike Pakistan, India has a no first strike policy. It completely changes India’s military planning because having plutonium gives Pakistan the option of deploying from land, sea or air. “For Pakistan it’s a quantum leap. It gives them options to target all of India.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2291202,00.html

 

[Neo]

Pakistan nuclear upgrade worries India

Big News Network.com
Sunday 30th July, 2006 (UPI)
​

Pakistan will soon be able to strike every city in India with nuclear weapons developed with China's help, senior Indian defense advisers say.

Pakistan's new capability will alter the military balance in the region by giving it a second strike capability, the advisers told the Sunday Times of London.

The Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said last week that Pakistan was constructing a heavy-water nuclear reactor that could produce more than 400 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium a year -- enough to make 40 to 50 nuclear weapons a year.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Ahmad Kasuri said Friday the reactor was safe in our hands and would not spark an arms race with rival India.

Unlike Pakistan, India has a no-first-strike policy, said Dr. Anupam Shrivastava, director of the Center for International Trade and Security at the University of Georgia and an adviser on proliferation to Washington, New Delhi and Beijing. "It completely changes India's military planning because having plutonium gives Pakistan the option of deploying from land, sea or air.

For Pakistan it's a quantum leap, he added. It gives them options to target all of India.

http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/f2a9cb5dbd244dfa