The nuclear weapons tests of Pakistan refers to a test programme directed towards the development of

nuclear explosives A nuclear explosive is an explosive device that derives its energy from nuclear reactions. Almost all nuclear explosive devices that have been designed and produced are nuclear weapons intended for warfare. Other, non-warfare, applications for nuc ...

and investigation of the effects of nuclear explosions. The programme was suggested by

Munir Ahmad Khan Munir Ahmad Khan ( ur, ; 20 May 1926 – 22 April 1999), , was a Pakistani nuclear reactor physicist who is credited, among others, with being the "father of the atomic bomb program" of Pakistan for their leading role in developing their nati ...

, chairman of the

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) (Urdu: ) is a federally funded independent governmental agency, concerned with research and development of nuclear power, promotion of nuclear science, energy conservation and the peaceful usage of nuclea ...

(PAEC), as early as 1977. The first subcritical testing was carried out in 1983 by PAEC, codenamed

Kirana-I The Kirana Hills is a small and extensive rocky mountain range located in Rabwah and Sargodha, Pakistan. It is also a place of tourist attraction in Sargodha City. Locally known as "Black Mountains" due to its brownish landscape, its highest pe ...

, and continued until the 1990s under the government of the

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...

, Benazir Bhutto. Further claims of conducting subcritical tests at

Kahuta Kahuta (Punjabi, Urdu: کہوٹہ) is a census-designated city and tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab Province, Pakistan. The population of the Kahuta Tehsil is approximately 220,576 at the 2017 census. Kahuta is the home to the Kahuta ...

were made in 1984 by the

Kahuta Research Laboratories The Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories, ( ur, ) or KRL for short, is a federally funded, multi-program national research institute and national laboratory site primarily dedicated to uranium enrichment, supercomputing and fluid mechanics. It ...

(KRL) but were dismissed by the Government of Pakistan. The Pakistan Government, under Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

, authorized the programme jointly under PAEC and KRL, assisted by the Corps of Engineers in 1998. There were six nuclear tests performed under this programme, codenamed

Chagai-I Chagai-I is the code name of five simultaneous underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15 hrs PKT on 28 May 1998. The tests were performed at Ras Koh Hills in the Chagai District of Balochistan Province. Chagai-I was Pakistan' ...

, and

Chagai-II Chagai-II is the codename assigned to the second atomic test conducted by Pakistan, carried out on 30 May 1998 in the Kharan Desert in Balochistan Province of Pakistan. ''Chagai-II'' took place two days after Pakistan's first successful test, ...

. After the Prime Minister of India, Atal Vajpayee made a state visit to Pakistan to meet with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, both countries signed a nuclear testing control treaty, the '' Lahore Declaration'' in 1999.

Testing series

Chagai-I

The Pakistan's Chagai-I nuclear test series was a single

nuclear test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, Nuclear weapon yield, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detona ...

conducted in 1998.

Chagai II

The Pakistan's Chagai II nuclear test series was a single

conducted in 1998. These tests followed the ''

'' series . The Pakistan test series summary table is below. The detonations in the Pakistan's ''Chagai-II'' series are listed below:

Summary

References

Sources

* * {{refend Pakistani nuclear weapons testing History of Pakistan History of science and technology in Pakistan