Close on the heels of revelations that Pakistan has been illegally modifying US-made Harpoon missiles with the objective of targeting India,come two reports from Washington asserting that Islamabad has been steadily working towards increasing its nuclear capabilities,both in terms of numbers as well as quality. These reports one published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the other in the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences differently estimate the number of nuclear weapons in Pakistans possession between 60 and 90,but both agree that the country has been engaged in enhancing its nuclear arsenal and capacity to produce fissile material. Pakistan has an estimated arsenal of about 70-90 nuclear weapons and is busily enhancing its capabilities across the board. A new nuclear-capable ballistic missile is being readied for deployment. Two new plutonium production reactors and a second chemical separation facility are also under construction, wrote authors of the report in Bulletin of Atomic Scientists,Robert S Norris of the Natural Resources Defence Council and Hans M Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists. It pointed out that Pakistan had doubled its stock of nuclear weapons in the last ten years,much more than was anticipated. However,several factors suggested that its arsenal would not have reached 100 warheads,it said. The CRS report,by non-proliferation analysts Paul K Kerr and Mary Beth Nikitin,put a more conservative estimate saying Pakistan has approximately 60 nuclear warheads,although it could be larger. Islamabad is producing fissile material,adding to related production facilities,and deploying additional delivery vehicles. These steps will enable Pakistan to undertake both quantitative and qualitative improvements to its nuclear arsenal, the report says,adding that the India-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement could also have contributed to this programme. Whether and to what extent Pakistans current expansion of its nuclear weapons-related facilities is a response to the 2008 US-India nuclear cooperation agreement is unclear. Islamabad does not have a public,detailed nuclear doctrine,but its minimum credible deterrent is widely regarded as primarily a deterrent to Indian military action. The Bulletin for Atomic Scientists report says that the most likely delivery vehicle for these nuclear weapons would be the US-supplied F-16s though French-manufactured Mirage-Vs could also be used. Following the example of other nations that have developed nuclear weapons,Pakistan is improving its weapon designs,moving beyond its first-generation nuclear weapons that relied on HEU. Earlier,the New York Times had quoted senior US officials as saying that US had protested to Pakistan for illegally modifying the Harpoon missiles to target India. Pak strikes Taliban hideouts,35 dead Islamabad: At least 35 militants were killed when Pakistani security forces backed by helicopter gunships pounded Taliban hideouts in the lawless Khyber tribal agency bordering Afghanistan and destroyed nine terrorist training centres,including that of Lashkar-e-Islam. Ground forces backed by gunship helicopters targeted positions of the Lashkar-e-Islam group in the Khyber Agency,Geo TV reported. PTI
