Pakistani scientists have built up a sizeable nuclear arsenal and its nuclear warheads are already in place on missiles, a leading scientist has said.Pervez Hoodbhoy, professor of nuclear physics at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, told the Times daily that ‘‘scientists have been working in three shifts over the past three years since the Kargil conflict’’.He said there were clear indications that the nuclear warheads were already in place on missiles. ‘‘We are much closer to a nuclear confrontation with India than at any other time,’’ he was quoted by the leading London daily as saying on Monday. He said the country could have more warheads than previously thought. The Times further reported that Pakistani scientists have been working round the clock to accelerate production of weapons-grade uranium. The disclosure raised the possibility that Pakistan could assemble more nuclear warheads than the estimated 30 to 50. Each warhead is understood to have the same explosive power as the US atomic weapon dropped over Hiroshima in 1945.
