Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)
- Location Headquartered in Karachi; additional facilities in Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, and Peshawar [1]
- Type Missile-Production
- Facility Status Active
Country Spotlight
Pakistan first tested nuclear weapons in May 1998 in response to nuclear tests by its regional rival, India. The program owes its success in part to Abdul Qadeer Khan’s clandestine international nuclear smuggling network. Pakistan has vastly expanded its nuclear forces and remains outside the NPT regime; the country is also a major source of proliferation concern.
Region South Asia
~170 Nuclear weapons
≈ 4.9 ± 1.7 Tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU)
6 Nuclear tests conducted
1998 Nuclear test moratorium began
India and Pakistan came close to using nuclear weapons. (CNS)
Education Center
Hans M. Kristensen, Matt Korda, and Eliana Johns, “Pakistan nuclear weapons, 2023,” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 11 September 2023, https://thebulletin.org.
“Countries: Pakistan,” International Panel on Fissile Materials, 18 May 2020, fissilematerials.org.
“Pakistan Rules Out Test Ban Treaty Endorsement,” Global Security Newswire, 19 June 2009, nti.org; and “Statement by Ambassador Zamir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan at the Conference on Disarmament (CD),” Geneva, Reaching Critical Will, 27 August 2009, www.reachingcriticalwill.org.
Mohammad Ilyas Khan, “Why Pakistan Is Opening Up Over Its Nuclear Program,” BBC, 21 October 2015, bbc.com.
US Department of State, “2015 Report on Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments,” 5 June 2015, www.state.gov.
OPCW, “Statement by H.E. Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the OPCW, at the Sixty-Seventh Session of the Executive Council,” EC-67/NAT.12, 14 February 2012, www.opcw.org.
Shirley A. Kan, “China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues,” CRS Report for Congress RL31555, (Washington, DC: The Library of Congress, 16 August 2010).
Asad Hashim, “Pakistan Successfully Tests Medium-Range Missile,” accessed April 14, 2021, www.aljazeera.com.