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Timeline of Pakistan's Nuclear Programme

23 years have passed today :pakistan:
@ghazi52 do you have any newspaper clicks or any sort of historical archives for the dates may 26 - may 31,1998
 
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"Youm-e-Takbeer"

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Nation marks Youm-e-Takbeer on 28th May to commemorate the first nuclear test conducted on the hills of Chaghi, Balochistan on 28th May 1998.

The Pakistani scientists triggered the nukes which transformed the black graphite mountain into a milky white mountain and showed the world an unbeatable power of nuclear technology. On this day Pakistan became the first nuclear Islamic country. Pakistan gave a strong response to India on its five nuclear explosions.


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23 years have passed today :pakistan:
@ghazi52 do you have any newspaper clicks or any sort of historical archives for the dates may 26 - may 31,1998

Monday, June 1, 1998 Published at 10:17 GMT 11:17 UK

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Nuclear tests dominate world headlines


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Newspapers around the world were dominated by one story on Friday - Pakistan's nuclear tests.
An editorial in Munich's Suddeutsche Zeitung describes the tests as "A Race In Madness".

When it comes to a nuclear arms race, it says, there are no winners, just countries who sign their own death sentence.

The French paper Liberation calls it a worrying escalation which the major world powers had hoped to prevent by ending the cold war.

The view from Pakistan is, of course, very different.

The Nation newspaper, published in Lahore, claims the tests have "restored the fragile balance of power between India and Pakistan, and lightened the clouds of war that were looming".

One of the views from India is rather surprising.


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In its main editorial entitled "Ironic Solidarity", the Times of India says that "Pakistan deserves to be congratulated for following India's example, and challenging the nuclear apartheid and diktat of the big powers".


The paper adds: "It's much better for India to face an open Pakistani nuclear weapon, instead of an undeclared one".

The Frankfurter Allgemeine headlines its editorial on the matter: "Nuclear strongmen in the Asian Poor House".

It points to the fact that when it comes to relations between the two countries the has only been one constant - the arms race.

The Spanish paper El Mundo has a front-page photo of a group of Pakistanis celebrating outside the Karachi Stock Exchange, making a victory signs in apparent defiance of the threat of international sanctions.

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The International Herald Tribune predicts that Japan may announce sanctions against Pakistan, which, the paper says, would have a dramatic impact, as Islamabad stands to lose nearly $500m in aid and subsidised loans.


The Madrid paper El Pais says there is no enthusiasm anywhere in Europe for the idea of imposing sanctions.

La Repubblica in Rome refers to the test as Islam's first atomic bomb, a sign of what the paper calls the new world "disorder".

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Likewise, the Corriere Della Sera in Milan says the emergence of two new nuclear powers has effectively destroyed the post cold war order - and warns of a crowd of aspiring powers, led by Iran, knocking at the door of the nuclear club.
 
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Believe it or not. This Pakistan lnstitute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), was financed by the United States of America under ‘Atom for Peace Program ‘ during Pakistan friendly Eisenhower administration.

USA installed the 5 Megawatts Research reactor, and what were then the most advanced IBM computers.

The whole complex was designed by the great American Architect Edward Durrell Stone, who also designed Wapda House Lahore, and President House Islamabad, all paid by US AID.

The Reactor went critical in 1967.


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American architect Edward Durell Stone (1902 - 1978) shows his design for the new Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology in Islamabad, at his New York studio, 7th June 1961. From left to right, Carter L. Burgess, President of American Machine and Foundry (AMF), Mr Stone, and DrIshrat Hussain Usmani (1917 - 1992), President of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.



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In its main editorial entitled "Ironic Solidarity", the Times of India says that "Pakistan deserves to be congratulated for following India's example, and challenging the nuclear apartheid and diktat of the big powers".


The paper adds: "It's much better for India to face an open Pakistani nuclear weapon, instead of an undeclared one".





I remember the second headline which was common among many leading Indian daily's. The first one man that was not expected.
 
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Timeline of Pakistan's Nuclear Programme


1956- Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) established with the establishment of the Atomic Energy Research Council (AERC)

1960- Dr. I.H. Usmani, a physicist and an ex-ICS officer, takes over as PAEC Chairman from Dr. Nazir Ahmad (1955-60)

1961- PAEC sets up an Atomic Energy Mineral Centre at Lahore

1963- Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH) is established at Nilore, near Islamabad. Construction work begins under the guidance of the American architect Edward Stone.

1965- September 6th-21st, second Indo-Pak war

1965-October, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto visits Vienna and meets Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan. They discuss India’s nuclear plans and Pakistan’s future nuclear roadmap. Their private meetings continue till 1972.

1965-December 11, Munir Khan meets President Ayub Khan at the Rochester Hotel, London. Ayub remains unconvinced that Pakistan needs to take notice of India’s nuclear program and acquire nuclear facilities while they were still easily available. Munir comes out of the meeting and tells Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, “The President did not agree.” Bhutto replies, “Don’t worry, our turn will come.”

1965- December 21st, the 5 MW Pakistan Research Reactor-1 (PARR), supplied by the United States, becomes critical.

1965- September; Construction of 137 MW Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) 137 MW begins near coast of Karachi under a contract from Canadian General Electric Company (CGE)

1967- The Electronics Division is established at PINSTECH

1967- Nuclear Physics Division (NPD) is established at PINSTECH

1967- Reactor School is established in PINSTECH to train scientists and engineers, and put R&D on fast track

1968- Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty is completed. Pakistan refuses to sign.

1970-Reactor School becomes operational

1971- July; Construction of KANUPP is completed

1971- August 1st, KANUPP reactor becomes critical

1971- October 21st, generation of electricity is achieved at KANUPP

1971- December, third Pak-Bharat war. Bharat invades East Pakistan subsequently making into Bangladesh.

1971-December President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto takes over as President of Pakistan soon after the fall of East Pakistan. He immediately asks Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan, a nuclear engineer working as Head of Reactor Engineering at the IAEA, to return to the country and prepare a feasibility status report on Pakistan’s nuclear infrastructure. Munir Khan takes a round of all PAEC establishments and prepares a status-report which is submitted to ZA Bhutto before the Multan Conference.

1972- January 2nd, President Z.A.Bhutto calls a meeting of senior scientists and engineers at Multan where he announces the intention of building an atomic bomb for Pakistan. This meeting was attended by the future Nobel Laureate, Dr. Abdus Salam, PAEC Chairman (1960-72) Dr. I.H.Usmani and other senior scientists. It was here that Bhutto announced that he was appointing Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan, a nuclear engineer working as Head of Reactor Engineering Division at the IAEA as PAEC Chairman (1972-91) and head of the nuclear weapons program. This was the day when Pakistan embarked on its quest for the atomic bomb.

1972- PAEC was transferred from the Science and Technology Research Division to the President's Secretariat

1972- March, Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan formally takes over as Chairman PAEC

1972-May, PAEC submits a detailed nuclear plan to President Bhutto which calls for the establishment of a various nuclear plants and facilities. This plan is aimed at acquiring complete control of the nuclear fuel cycle

1972- November 28, Pakistan’s first nuclear power plant, KANUPP, inaugurated by the President of Pakistan, Z.A.Bhutto, Dr. Abdus Salam and PAEC Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan.

December 1972- Two theoretical physicists working at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, asked to report to the PAEC chairman by Dr. Abdus Salam. This marked the beginning of the “Theoretical Physics Group” in PAEC that would develop the designs of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

1972- Radio Isotopes and Applications Division (RIAD) established at PINSTECH

1973-Dr. Riazuddin travels to the United States and obtains all the declassified information on the Manhattan Project. On his return to Pakistan, he is appointed Member (Technical), by chairman PAEC.

1973- Nuclear Materials Division (NMD) established at PINSTECH, which played a critical role in Pakistan's nuclear program.

1972-PAEC decides not to pursue plans to acquire and build a pilot-reprocessing plant which is downgraded and is on offer from the UK Atomic Energy Authority. It is also decided to open negotiations with the French and the Belgians for an upgraded reprocessing facility.

1973- March, PAEC and Saint Gobain Nucleaire (SGN) of France, sign an initial contract, to prepare the basic design for a large-scale reprocessing plant at Chashma, one with a capacity of 100 tons of fuel per year.

1973-March, A team of three PAEC scientists and engineers is sent to the headquarters of the Belgian firm Belgonucliare at Mol for participation in the designing of a pilot reprocessing facility and obtain training in reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel.

1973-December, PAEC chairman announces the discovery of large-scale uranium deposits in Dera Ghazi Khan. He also announces plans for setting up 15-24 nuclear reactors by the end of the century to meet two-thirds of Pakistan’s energy requirements. This plan could not be implemented due to international sanctions and apathy of successive Pakistani governments.

1973- The Theoretical Physics Group in PAEC decides to opt for an “implosion” design for the atomic bomb in place of the gun-type bomb. Dr. Zaman Sheikh is also tasked with the development of the explosive lenses of the nuclear device.

1974-March, PAEC Chairman summons a meeting to start work on the nuclear weapons program. This meeting marks the beginning of Pakistan's efforts to locally produce nuclear weapon design and development. In this meeting, the "Wah Group" is constituted under PAEC's Directorate of Technical Development (DTD) to start work on the manufacture, triggering mechanism, implosion system, mechanical and precision systems and all other related development areas for a developing an atomic bomb. It was attended by Mr. Muhammad Hafeez Qureshi, Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, Dr. Zaman Sheikh and Dr. Riazuddin and other scientists.

1974- March 25, An explosive manufacturing plant is set up to develop the explosive lenses for the nuclear device. This decision is taken in a meeting between PAEC chairman and the head of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories, Wah, Lt. General Qamar Ali Mirza, and attended by Dr. Abdus Salam, Dr. Riazuddin and Mr. Hafeez Qureshi.

1974- October 18th, contract between PAEC and SGN for the Chashma plant is signed.

1974-May 18; India tests a device of up to 10-15 kilotons, at Pokhran, in the Rajasthan desert, 40 miles from the Pakistani border, and calls the test a “Peaceful Nuclear Explosion”

1974- May 19, Prime Minister Bhutto declares in a press conference that Pakistan will not be intimated by India’s nuclear blackmail.

1974- Pakistan proposed to India the establishment of a nuclear weapons free zone in south Asia.

1974-June 15; Prime Minister Z A Bhutto chairs a meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet to finalize the future course of the nuclear program in response to India’s nuclear test. In this meeting, he gives his official go-ahead to PAEC to begin work on the atomic bomb.

1974- Several PAEC scientists and engineers at PINSTECH carry out successful experiments of various uranium enrichment technologies and complete "proof of concept studies" of first uranium separation in PAEC Labs. These include gaseous-diffusion, electromagnetic separation, jet-nozzle, gas-centrifuge, and laser methods for uranium enrichment.

1974-Oct-Nov. PAEC chairman asks a nuclear engineer, S. Bashiruddin Mahmood, to prepare a feasibility report for setting up of a centrifuge-based uranium enrichment program. Mahmood is appointed as the head of this project, known as Project-706 which begins under the deceptive name of Directorate of Industrial Liaison (DIL)

1975-Feb 15; PAEC chairman hand-carries a feasibility report for getting formal approval and setting up of a $450 million nuclear weapons program comprising; a) a centrifuge-based uranium enrichment plant at Kahuta; b) a nuclear weapons design and development team led by Dr. Riazuddin and Hafeez Qureshi; c) a uranium refining plant at Baghalchur (BC-1) and a uranium hexafluoride production complex at Dera Ghazi Khan.

1975- March-April, DIL begins work at the pilot-scale centrifuge plant in the barracks of Chaklala airport under Bashiruddin Mahmood.

1975- PAEC embarks to establish an elaborate network for arranging the supply of necessary materials and equipment from suppliers and companies for the Uranium Enrichment and Plutonium Reprocessing programs of the PAEC

1975- Reactor School upgraded and the Centre for Nuclear Studies (CNS) established at PINSTECH which trains and produces over 2000 high caliber nuclear scientists, engineers and technicians, and provides the trained manpower for the nuclear program

1975- July, Mr. S. A. Butt is posted at the Pakistani Embassy in Brussels, in charge of science and technology division to establish an elaborate network for arranging the supply of necessary materials and equipment from suppliers and companies for the Uranium Enrichment and Plutonium Reprocessing programs of the PAEC

1975- Ford Administration offers Pakistan 110 A-7A “Corsair II” attack-aircraft in return Pakistan should withdraw from SGN contract.

1975-December- Dr. AQ Khan returns to Pakistan from Holland.
Why there is no mention of Dr Rafi Chaudhry while according to Dr Samar Mubarak he is the actual father of Pakistan Nuclear Capability.
 
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2024 - Asim Bajwa declares Pakistan a nuclear free country.
 
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Believe it or not. This Pakistan lnstitute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), was financed by the United States of America under ‘Atom for Peace Program ‘ during Pakistan friendly Eisenhower administration.

USA installed the 5 Megawatts Research reactor, and what were then the most advanced IBM computers.

The whole complex was designed by the great American Architect Edward Durrell Stone, who also designed Wapda House Lahore, and President House Islamabad, all paid by US AID.

The Reactor went critical in 1967.


View attachment 750246


American architect Edward Durell Stone (1902 - 1978) shows his design for the new Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology in Islamabad, at his New York studio, 7th June 1961. From left to right, Carter L. Burgess, President of American Machine and Foundry (AMF), Mr Stone, and DrIshrat Hussain Usmani (1917 - 1992), President of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.



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Hi,

The love---Hate relationship of the couple---.
 
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