Pakistan Is Increasing Its Nukes Arsenal At An Astonishing Rate

Pakistan's nuclear weapons production is projected to expand even further in coming years as two new plutonium reactors and a fuel reprocessing factory start production.

Pakistan says it needs nuclear weapons to deter invasion by its traditional enemy, India—a claim many analysts find dubious. Fears have grown in recent years that weapons could fall into the hands of Islamist militants, who have infiltrated the army and intelligence services.

Last month, Foreign Policy magazine ranked Pakistan as the 12th most failed state in the world.

Terrorism warning as Pakistan's nuclear weapons store grows

Islamabad is in danger of "losing control of part of its nuclear arsenal" to terrorists.

Describing Pakistan's nuclear programme as the fastest in the world, the report says Islamabad and New Delhi continue to develop new ballistic and cruise missile systems able to carry nuclear weapons.

"They are also expanding their capacities to produce fissile material for military purposes," it says, claiming that Pakistan is now turning to producing lighter precision warheads or tactical nuclear weapons for limited battlefield use.

Peace research institute director Daniel Nord cautioned that Pakistan was in danger of "losing control of part of its nuclear arsenal" to non-state parties.

As Pakistan Expands Nuke Arsenal, U.S. Fears Grow

As Pakistan tries to add to its stockpile of nuclear bombs, domestic terrorists are launching more sophisticated attacks on the country's military bases. Together, those trends are raising fears that terrorists might target Pakistan's widening network of nuclear facilities.

The U.S. relationship with Pakistan is fraught with anxiety and danger, and there is no more perilous element than Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

"It's the proliferation of that technology, and it's the opportunity and the potential that it could fall into the hands of terrorists, many of whom are alive and well and seek that in that region," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a recent appearance before a Senate panel.

Reliance On, And Distrust For, The U.S.

The relationship between Pakistan and the United States is soaked in ambiguity and mistrust, and it seems to have reached a new low after the U.S. raid that killed bin Laden.

"What they're worried about is the U.S. stealing their nuclear weapons, so what they all point to is the raid on Osama bin Laden," Perkovich says. "That's the demonstration of the threat that they worry about."

U.S. efforts to help Pakistan safeguard its growing nuclear arsenal have met with some success, says Feroz Khan, who worked for many years inside Pakistan's nuclear directorate, known as the Strategic Plans Division.

"The United States is the most advanced nuclear power with the best practices in the world," Khan says, "and the Pakistani system actually tries to emulate them and learn from them. They have not been shy of doing that."

Iran's nuke program has lot of support from pakistan. This is a news item written in 2003 :

Nuclear Program in Iran Tied To Pakistan (Washington Post)

Complex Network Acquired Technology and Blueprints

By Joby Warrick

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 21, 2003; Page A01

VIENNA -- Evidence discovered in a probe of Iran's secret nuclear program points overwhelmingly to Pakistan as the source of crucial technology that put Iran on a fast track toward becoming a nuclear weapons power, according to U.S. and European officials familiar with the investigation.

The serious nature of the discoveries prompted a decision by Pakistan two weeks ago to detain three of its top nuclear scientists for several days of questioning, with U.S. intelligence experts allowed to assist, the officials said. The scientists have not been charged with any crime, and Pakistan continues to insist that it never wittingly provided nuclear assistance to Iran or anyone else.

And here is the video :

Iranian nuclear chief admits ties to Pakistan

Pakistan’s nuclear dilemma —Haroon R Siddiqi

Pakistan should have known better before embarking on a nuclear programme that atomic empowerment cannot precede economic development. A nation has to be self-reliant before it shakes the earth with nuclear explosions

Pakistan is the only atomic power in the world whose nuclear arsenal is under constant threat from within and outside. We are apprehensively protecting our deadliest weaponry from the Islamic fundamentalists as well as the US, which is deviously getting closer to establishing its sway over the nukes in our custody. It is ironic that instead of feeling secure under the impregnable nuclear deterrence, Pakistan is getting jittery with the mounting hostilities from various directions and appears to be wilting under pressure. We frequently face intransigence by India. Even Afghanistan does not shrink from behaving overbearingly with us. And, of course, our sovereignty is dismissed at whim by the US every now and then.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had undauntedly resolved after the 1971 war with India that Pakistan would make the atom bomb even if the nation has to survive on eating grass.

How prophetic of Bhutto, most of the pakistanis are forced to eat grass.

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