Publication

This paper examines the history of Pakistan's civilian nuclear activities, its nuclear weapons program and uranium mining in the country. More specifically, it traces these three issues, along with the evolution of international and domestic regulatory measures for Pakistan's nuclear activities, through three broad phases of the country's nuclear history. These are 1) the early history of Pakistan's effort to build a civilian program between 1955-1974; 2) the period that followed the 1974 nuclear test by India that radically changed the direction of the Pakistani program to one that focused on the creation of a nuclear deterrent; and 3) the period between 1998 and today that saw a renewal of legislation developed in relation to the nuclear program following a series of nuclear tests by India and Pakistan.