When India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974 (Operation ‘Smiling Buddha’), the Pakistani state leadership saw it as an existential threat. The path that followed was secret, controversial and eventually became the center of the South Asian arms race.
2. India’s nuclear test
In May 1974, India carried out its first nuclear explosion called ‘Smiling Buddha’ in Rajasthan. Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said at the time: “We will eat grass, go hungry, but we will make a bomb.”
3. Dr. Abdul Qadir Khan: The ‘father’ of Pakistan’s atomic bomb
Dr. Abdul Qadir Khan was a metallurgist who studied in Germany and the Netherlands and worked at a uranium enrichment institute called URENCO. It was at this institute that he was introduced to modern gas centrifuge technology—through which it is possible to enrich uranium to make nuclear weapons.
He secretly stole blueprints from URENCO in 1975 and returned to Pakistan, establishing Khan Research Laboratories (KRL)—which became the center of Pakistan’s nuclear program.
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4. European technology smuggling and aid.
Despite Western surveillance, Pakistan acquired various nuclear technologies and equipment from European countries in the 1970s–80s. In particular, some Dutch companies from the Netherlands and Germany provided Pakistan with technical assistance in 1976.
This enabled KRL to start uranium gas centrifuges—which were the basis for producing weapons-grade uranium.
5. Secret programs and possible cooperation from China.
Pakistan ran its entire nuclear program in secret to avoid the attention of the world community.
According to analysts, Pakistan also received design assistance and some nuclear components from China, especially in the 1980s–90s.
6. Possible timeline for developing nuclear weapons.
Experts believe that Pakistan was able to develop a viable nuclear bomb by 1987–90. However, they did not officially announce it, but rather waited for India’s next move.
7. Final Test: Chagai-1 and Chagai-2
On May 28, 1998, in response to India’s nuclear test, Pakistan conducted five underground explosions called Chagai-1 in the Chagai Hills of Balochistan.
On May 30, 1998, another test called Chagai-2 was conducted in the second phase.
Pakistan claims that it has successfully become a nuclear weapons state.
8. Consequences and Controversies
Although Dr. A. Q. Khan was declared a national hero, in 2004 he was placed under house arrest on charges of smuggling nuclear technology into the international market. It is known that he secretly provided technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
This scandal brought Pakistan’s nuclear program under international criticism, but their weapons status remained unshaken.
Sources/References (in brief):
Feroz Khan, Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistani Bomb
The Washington Post, 2004
IAEA Reports on Nuclear Proliferation
URENCO archives (Netherlands)
Indian Ministry of External Affairs: Smiling Buddha files
Disclaimer: This post is based on publicly available sources and does not intend to promote violence or political bias. It serves an informational and analytical purpose only.
Agencies
