‘Satellite images show Pakistan expanding nuclear programme’

PAKISTAN: Satellite images show that Pakistan is building a new nuclear reactor that can produce weapons-grade plutonium, an American watchdog group said, warning that it could contribute to an atomic arms race with archrival India.

A picture taken June 3 shows work progressing rapidly on the reactor at the Khushab nuclear site, 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, the Institute of Science for International Security said Thursday.

The development of the reactor and other nuclear-related activities “imply” that Pakistan has decided to “increase significantly its production of plutonium for nuclear weapons,” the Washington-based institute said in a report analyzing the images.

A senior official at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Authority said the country was “extending our infrastructure,” but declined to address the details of the report. “We are a declared nuclear state and we are pursuing our nuclear program for peaceful purposes,” said the official, who asked that he not be named because of the sensitivity of the subject. “We are doing it for our national interests.”

The report, co-authored by former U.N. inspector David Albright, said Pakistan may have decided to produce more plutonium for lighter warheads for cruise missiles, or to upgrade weapons aimed at Indian cities.

Albright said the work on the reactor shows that the country is trying to improve its nuclear capabilities with a “new generation” of plutonium-based weapons.

Islamabad, Friday, AP