Pakistan
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.
See Pakistan’s performance in
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
Nuclear
- Began pursuing a nuclear weapon through uranium enrichment in the mid-1970s under the direction of Abdul Qadeer Khan
- Opposes negotiation on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) in the UN Conference on Disarmament
- Announced the development of low-yield tactical nuclear weapons in 2015
- Has not endorsed a no-first-use nuclear policy and uses its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent against regional threats
Biological
- No credible evidence of biological weapons program
- Has increased regulation and security of its domestic biological industry since the mid-2000s
- Like many other states, possesses significant dual-use biotechnology capabilities
Pakistan Biological Overview
Tutorial on Biological Weapons Nonproliferation
Missile
- Deploys both ballistic and cruise missiles for nuclear weapons delivery
- Has received foreign assistance to aid in the development of its ballistic and cruise missiles, most notably from China
- Successfully tested the Ghaznavi short-range ballistic missile in August 2021, the Shaheen III medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) in April 2022, and the Ababil MRBM in October 2023
The CNS India and Pakistan Missile Launch Databases
Pakistan Missile Facilities
Chemical
- Is not known to have ever possessed a chemical weapons program
- Has periodically been accused of supplying chemical weapons or precursors to nonstate actors
- Plays an active role in the OPCW and supports provisions to increase trade and assistance for the peaceful development of chemical industries
Pakistan Chemical Overview
Tutorial on Chemical Weapons Nonproliferation
Treaties and Regimes Memberships
Air Weapons Complex (AWC)
- Location Kamra, Wah Cantonment
- Type Missile-Production
- Facility Status Active
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
Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF)
- Location Wah Cantt
- Type Missile-Production
- Facility Status Active
Defense Science and Technology Organization (DESTO)
- Location Chaklala Cantt, Rawalpindi
- Type Missile-Production
- Facility Status Operational
Sonmiani Flight Test Range (FTR)
- Location 50km W Karachi [1]
- Type Missile-Testing
- Facility Status Active
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI)
- Location Topi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Type Missile-Education and Training
- Facility Status Operational
Karachi Institute of Power Engineering (KINPOE)
- Location Approximately 25km west of Karachi
- Type Nuclear-Education and Training
- Facility Status Operational
National Defense Complex (NDC)
- Location Fatehjang, Tarwanah suburb, Rawalpindi (50km, SW Islamabad)
- Type Missile-Production
- Facility Status Active
Khan Research Laboratories (KRL)
- Location Rawalpindi
- Type Missile-Production
- Facility Status Active
Mashhood Test Firing Range (MTFR)
- Location Tilla Jogian (25km west of Jhelum)
- Type Missile-Testing
- Facility Status Active
National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM)
- Location Islamabad
- Type Missile-Regulatory
- Facility Status Active
National Security Council of Pakistan (NSC)
- Location Islamabad, Pakistan
- Type Missile-Regulatory
- Facility Status Active
National Command Authority (NCA)
- Location Islamabad
- Type Missile-Regulatory
- Facility Status Active [3]
Strategic Plans Division (SPD)
- Location Islamabad, Pakistan
- Type Missile-Regulatory
- Facility Status Active
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
- Location Islamabad, Pakistan
- Type Nuclear-Regulatory
- Facility Status Operational
Kundian Nuclear Complex-1 (KNC-1)
- Location Kundian, NW region of Punjab Province; Approximately 200km SW of Islamabad
- Type Nuclear-Fuel Fabrication
- Facility Status Operational
- NTI
- CNS
PakistanAir Weapons Complex (AWC)
- Missile
Defense Science and Technology Organization (DESTO)
- Missile
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI)
- Missile
Karachi Institute of Power Engineering (KINPOE)
- Nuclear
Khan Research Laboratories (KRL)
- Missile
Kundian Nuclear Complex-1 (KNC-1)
- Nuclear
Mashhood Test Firing Range (MTFR)
- Missile
National Command Authority (NCA)
- Missile
National Defense Complex (NDC)
- Missile
National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM)
- Missile
National Security Council of Pakistan (NSC)
- Missile
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)
- Nuclear
Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF)
- Missile
Sonmiani Flight Test Range (FTR)
- Missile
Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)
- Missile
Strategic Plans Division (SPD)
- Missile
Analysis
Pakistan
“Night of Murder”: On the Brink of Nuclear War in South Asia
India and Pakistan came close to using nuclear weapons. (CNS)
Cruising for a Bruising: How Cruise Missiles Are Threatening Norms Between India and Pakistan
Pakistan Submarine Capabilities
Education Center
Extensive resources on nuclear policy, biological threats, radiological security, cyber threats and more.
Sources
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.