1970
Pakistan builds a pilot-scale plant at Dera Ghazi Khan for the concentration of uranium ores. The plant has a capacity of 10,000 pounds a day.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "Roses do not grow in D.G. Khan," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), p. 69.

20 December 1971
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto assumes power in Pakistan. As a first step in the direction of institution of a nuclear weapons program, Bhutto tasks Munir Ahmad Khan, currently on a stint at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, to prepare a report on Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "Z.A. Bhutto, A Man in Hurry for the Bomb," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), pp. 16-17.

20 January 1972
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto holds a meeting with senior Pakistani nuclear scientists to discuss the possibility of embarking on a nuclear weapons program. The meeting is held at the residence of the Punjab Chief Minister Nawab Sadiq Qureshi in Multan. Key invitees include scientists from the Pakistan Institute for Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH), the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Government College, Lahore, and the Defense Science & Technology Organization (DESTO). Nobel laureate and former scientific advisor to the Pakistani government Dr. Abdus Salam also attends the meeting. During the meeting, several scientists enthusiastically support the idea of a nuclear weapons program. Bhutto endorses the idea and promises that his government will spare "no facilities and finances" for a weapons program. He also demands that the scientists produce a fission device within three years. Toward the end of the meeting, Bhutto announces that Munir Ahmad Khan will replace Dr. Usmani as Chairman of the PAEC.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "Z.A. Bhutto," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), pp. 17-18.

Late April-Early May 1972
Pakistani metallurgist Dr. A. Q. Khan takes up a job with the specialized Dutch engineering company - Physical Dynamics Laboratory or FDO at its metallurgical section in the Dutch town of Almelo. FDO is a subsidiary of the major Dutch company Verenigde Machine-Fabrieken and is a consultant and subcontractor for the ultracentrifuge process being developed by Britain, West Germany, and Netherlands to enrich uranium. The Dutch secret service - BVD - runs a cursory background check on Khan and grants him a security clearance, "secret inclusive."
--Steve Weissman & Herbert Krosney, "The Kindly Dr. Khan," The Islamic Bomb: The Nuclear Threat to Israel and the Middle East, (New York: 1981, Times Books), pp. 176-177.

8-9 May 1972
Khan visits the FDO plant a week after he starts work to begin familiarizing himself with work and security procedures at URENCO, the consortium working on the ultracentrifuge process.
--Steve Weissman & Herbert Krosney, "The Kindly Dr. Khan," The Islamic Bomb: The Nuclear Threat to Israel and the Middle East, (New York: 1981, Times Books), p.178.

October 1972
Two Pakistani nuclear scientists, Dr. Riazuddin and Dr. Masud temporarily working at the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy, return to Pakistan to begin theoretical work on a fission explosive device. The duo are posted at Quaid-e-Azam University and the Pakistan Institute for Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH) respectively. In the absence of the availability of computers, they use the mainframe computers at Quaid-e-Azam University for work related to the theoretical physics of a nuclear explosive device.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "A Tale of Two Scientists," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), pp.38-39.

1972
Pakistan begins operation of the 137,000-kilowatt Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP). The plant is expected to supply 25 percent of Karachi's power requirements.
--"Pakistan Makes Achievements in Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy," Xinhua General Overseas News Service, 27 October 1979; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 27 October 1979, http://web.lexis-nexis.com.

1972
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) abandons plans to obtain a downgraded nuclear reprocessing facility from Britain and opens negotiations with Belgian and French nuclear companies for assistance in setting up nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities, with the objective of pursuing the plutonium route for a nuclear weapons program.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "A Tale of Two Scientists," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), p. 30.

March 1973
A team of three Pakistani nuclear scientists and engineers comprising of Khalil Qureshi, Zafarullah, and Abdul Majid is sent to the headquarters of the Belgonucleaire at Mol to participate in the designing of a pilot nuclear fuel reprocessing facility as well as gain training in reprocessing spent fuel. Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Dr. Munir Ahmad Khan favors the Belgian pilot reprocessing plant over the British facility on grounds that it would be difficult for Pakistan to upgrade the downgraded reprocessing plant on offer from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Agency (UKAEA).
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "A Tale of Two Scientists," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), pp. 36-37.

27 December 1973
Dr Munir Ahmad Khan, head of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), announces that large uranium deposits have been discovered in southern Punjab province.
He also announces an ambitious plan to construct 15 new nuclear reactors in the next 25 years to meet two-thirds of Pakistan's power requirements.
--Information Bank Abstracts, New York Times, 27 December 1973; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 27 December 1973, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

December 1973
Pakistani scientists elect to develop elect to develop an 'implosion' over the 'gun' type of nuclear fission device citing economy in the use of fissile material. Subsequently Dr. Zaman Shaikh, an explosives expert at the Defense Science Laboratories, is tasked with developing explosive lenses for the proposed device.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "A Tale of Two Scientists," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), p.40.

1973
Dr. Riazuddin travels to the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Italy, after which he proceeds to the United States to obtain open-source information on the 'Manhattan Project' from the Library of Congress and the National Information Center, Maryland. After his return from the United States, Riazuddin is inducted into the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) as member (technical).
[1] Dr. Riazuddin later discloses that he worked as part of the team that worked on designs for Pakistan's nuclear explosive device. As he explained, "we were the designers of the bomb, like the tailor who tells you how much of the material is required to stitch a suit. We had to identify the fissile material, whether to use plutonium or...enriched uranium, which method of detonation, which explosive, which type of tampers and lenses to use, how material will be compressed, how shock waves will be created, what would be the yield." Riazuddin also discloses that since Pakistan found it difficult to manufacture beryllium reflectors, the first nuclear explosive device designed by the 'Theoretical Group' used Uranium-238 as a reflector.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "A Tale of Two Scientists," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), pp.39-40.

18 January 1974
Canada provides line of credit to Pakistan for flood relief activities as well for the maintenance of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP).
-- Information Bank Abstracts, Wall Street Journal, 18 January 1974; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 18 January 1974, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

25 March 1974
Senior Pakistani nuclear scientists Dr. Salam, Munir Ahmad Khan, Dr. Riazuddin, and Hafeez Qureshi convene a meeting with the head of the Pakistan Ordnance Factory at Wah cantonment, Lt. General Qamar Ali Mirza, to set up a plant to manufacture His Majesty's Explosive (HMX) for use in the explosive lenses of the proposed implosion-design fission device. The project is codenamed "Research."
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "A Tale of Two Scientists," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), p.41.

March 1974
Chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Dr. Munir Ahmed Khan constitutes a small team of scientists, physicists, and engineers to begin work on a nuclear explosive device. The team's office is located at Wah near Rawalpindi; and because of its location comes to be referred to as the "Wah Group." The Wah Group begins research on conventional explosives used to trigger a nuclear fission device.
1. Original team members included Hafeez Qureshi, head of Radiation and Isotope Applications Division, Pakistan Institute of Science & Technology (PINSTECH) and Dr. Zaman Sheikh, Defense Science & Technology Organization (DESTO). The group was later expanded to include chemical, mechanical, explosive, and precision engineers.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "Pakistan's Finest Hour," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), pp. 3-4.

April 1974
Pakistan signs a contract with France for the supply of a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. The plant is to be constructed at Chashma on the banks of Indus River.
--"Ban this Bomb-To-Be," Economist, 14 April 1974, World Politics and Current Affairs, International, pg. 56; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 14 April 1974, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/

18 May 1974
India conducts a Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE). Following India's test, Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto meets with senior Pakistani officials to discuss the implications of India's nuclear tests. A statement by the Pakistani foreign ministry, released after the meeting, states that India's pronouncements of peaceful intentions do not satisfy Pakistan's security concerns. The statement also notes that nuclear programs often incorporate both peaceful and military ends.
-- Information Bank Abstracts, New York Times, 19 May 1974; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 19 May 1974, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/

19 May 1974
In a news conference, Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto indicates that Pakistan will not be threatened by India's 'nuclear blackmail.' Bhutto also indicates that Pakistan will not alter its current policies.
-- Information Bank Abstracts, New York Times, 20 May 1974; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 20 May 1974, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

7 June 1974
Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto says that India's nuclear program is designed to intimidate Pakistan and establish "hegemony in the subcontinent"; and Pakistan will develop a nuclear program in response to India's nuclear testing of an atomic device. However, Bhutto insists that Pakistan's program will be limited to peaceful purposes.
-- Information Bank Abstracts, New York Times, 8 June 1974; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 8 June 1974, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

5 July 1974
U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) officials predict that about two dozen nations could acquire nuclear weapons over the next decade. According to ACDA officials, countries within immediate reach of acquiring nuclear weapons capability are Pakistan, Japan, West Germany, Argentina, Brazil, and South Korea. Other potential proliferant states include South Africa and Italy.
--John W. Finney, Information Bank Abstracts, New York Times, 5 July 1974; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 5 July 1974, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

4 September 1974
In a secret memorandum titled "Prospects of Further Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) predicts that Pakistan will require at least 10 years to carry out a nuclear weapons development program.
--AP, 27 January 1978; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 27 January 1978, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

17 September 1974
Abdul Qadeer Khan writes a letter to Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto through the Pakistani ambassador in Belgium explaining his expertise in centrifuge-based uranium enrichment technologies at URENCO in Belgium. Khan offers help and urges the prime minister to take the uranium route to a nuclear weapons program. Bhutto responds favorably to Khan's suggestion and directs the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Dr. Munir Ahmad Khan to meet A.Q. Khan.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "Dr. A.Q. Khan: Nothing Succeeds Like Success," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), p.47.

18 September 1974
In an address at an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conference in Vienna, the head of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Dr Munir Ahmad Khan says that Pakistan will ask the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to declare the South Asian subcontinent to be a nuclear-weapons free zone.
-- Information Bank Abstracts, New York Times, 18 September 1974; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 18 September 1974, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

14 October 1974
Pakistan's Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto says that restarting U.S. arms shipments will decrease Pakistan's propensity to develop nuclear weapons. Bhutto further states that Pakistan does not want to spend its limited resources on developing nuclear weapons.
--Bernard Weinraub, Information Bank Abstracts, New York Times, 14 October 1974; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 14 October 1974, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

October 1974
The Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Dr. Munir Ahmad Khan directs Bashiruddin Mahmood to prepare a feasibility report on the proposed uranium enrichment program.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "Dr. A.Q. Khan: Nothing Succeeds Like Success," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), p. 48.

21 November 1974
The UN General Assembly approves a Pakistani proposal to create a nuclear weapons free zone in South Asia. The proposal passes by a vote of 82-2. India and Bhutan vote against the proposal.
--Kathleen Teltsch, Information Bank Abstracts, New York Times, 21 November 1974; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 21 November 1974, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

Late 1974
Dr. A. Q. Khan begins working with the Pakistani government to help develop plans for setting up an ultracentrifuge uranium enrichment plant. In the fall of 1974, Khan translates secret German documents on a technical breakthrough concerning the ultracentrifuge uranium enrichment process for the FDO.
1. It is suspected that Khan shared this classified information with the Pakistani government.
--Steve Weissman & Herbert Krosney, "The Kindly Dr. Khan," The Islamic Bomb: The Nuclear Threat to Israel and the Middle East, (New York: 1981, Times Books), pp. 178.

November 1974
After studying the various technical approaches to enriching uranium, Bashiruddin Mahmood recommends that Pakistan build a uranium enrichment facility based on centrifuge technology. Mahmood's report envisages the completion of the facility by 1979.
--Shahid-ur-Rehman, "Dr. A.Q. Khan: Nothing Succeeds Like Success," Long Road To Chagai, (Islamabad: 1999, Print Wise Publication), p. 50.

1974
Pakistan and Libya sign a 10-year cooperation agreement.
--Don Oberdorfer, Michael Gatier, and Maralee Schwartz, "Pakistan: The Quest for Atomic Bomb; Problem Discussed by West, Moscow, Peking," Washington Post, 27 August 1979, First Section, A1; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, 27 August 1979, http://web.lexis-nexis.com/.

	Updated December 2005