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Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
P.O. Box 1114, Islamabad, Pakistan
Telephone: (+92 51) 9209032
E-mail: webmaster@paec.gov.pk,
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), (Urdu:ادارہ جوہری توانائی پاکستان), is an independent governmental authority and a scientific research institution, concerned with research and development of nuclear power, promotion of nuclear science, energy conservation and the peaceful usage of nuclear technology.[1][2]
Since its establishment in 1956, the PAEC has overseen the extensive development of nuclear infrastructure to support the economical uplift of Pakistan by founding institutions that focus on development on food irradiation and on nuclear medicine radiation therapy for cancer treatment.[3][4] The PAEC organizes conferences and directs research at the country's leading universities.[5] Since 1960s, the PAEC is also a scientific research partner and sponsor of CERN, where Pakistani scientists have contributed to developing particle accelerators and research on high-energy physics.[6] PAEC scientists regularly pay visits to CERN while taking part in projects led by CERN.[7]
In 2001, the PAEC was integrated with the National Command Authority which is now under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.[8]
Main articles: Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, Project-706, Chagai-I and Chagai-II
Chaghi Monument, Islamabad Pakistan
Following the partition of British Indian Empire by the United Kingdom in 1947, Pakistan emerged as a Muslim-dominated state.[9] The turbulent nature of its emergence critically influenced the scientific development of the country.[9]
The establishment of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) in 1951 began Pakistan's research on physical sciences.[10] In 1953, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower announced the Atoms for Peace program, and of which Pakistan became its earliest partner.[11] Research at PAEC initially followed a strict non-weapon policy issued by then-Foreign Minister Sir Sir Zafar-ulla Khan.[11] In 1955, the government established a committee of scientists to prepare nuclear energy plans and build an industrial nuclear infrastructure throughout the country.[12] As the Energy Council Act went into full effect, Prime minister Huseyn Suhrawardy established the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in March 1956.[11] Its first chair was Nazir Ahmad– an experimental physicist.[11] Other members of the PAEC included Technical member Dr. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, an organic chemist at the Karachi University, and Dr. Raziuddin Siddiqui, a mathematical physicist at the same university.[11] Together, they both took charge of the research and development directorates of the commission.[12] In 1958, Dr. Abdus Salam of the Punjab University also joined the commission, along with Munir Ahmad Khan who initially lobbied for acquiring a pool-type reactor from the United States.[12]
In 1958, PAEC Chairman Nazir Ahmad proposed to the Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation to build a heavy water production facility with production capacity of 50 kg of heavy water per day at Multan, but this proposal was not acted on.[11] In 1960, Dr. I.H. Usmani was elevated as PAEC's second chair with the transfer of Nazir Ahmad at the Federal Bureau of Statistics.[11] The reactor was built in 1962, financed by local fertilizer companies.[13] In 1964, PAEC established its first research institute, the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH), at Nilore, and began negotiation for country's first commercial nuclear power plant to be built in Karachi.[11] In 1965, the PAEC reached an agreement with Canadian General Electric to build a CANDU reactor in Karachi.[11] Financial investment for the nuclear power plant in Karachi was provided by the Economic Coordination Committee, and Edward Durell Stone was commissioned to oversee the architectural design of PINSTECH.[11] From 1965–71, the PAEC sent 600 scientists abroad for training in nuclear sciences.[11] in 1969, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, agreed to supply a small scale nuclear reprocessing plant, with the capacity to extract 360 grams of plutonium per year.[11] In 1973, the PAEC announced the discovery of large uranium deposits in Punjab.[11]
After India's decisive victory in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Pakistan retracted its non-weapon policy and the research and development of nuclear weapons began in 1972.[11] PAEC's senior nuclear engineer Munir Ahmad Khan, who threw himself with full rigor for this task, was named as PAEC's third chair by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.[14] Work began on ingenious development of the nuclear fuel cycle infrastructure and nuclear weapons research in 1970s.[15] Key research took place at PINSTECH, where scientists worked on weapon designs and eventual nuclear weapons testing.[16] The PAEC expanded the crash program with various laboratories, facilities, and directorates researching on developing and testing materials and components for bomb designs, whilst it engineered plants and funded facilities for production of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium.[16] In 1976, the possible test sites were decided by the PAEC and construction on test sites were completed in 1979.[16] In 1983, PAEC's efforts reached to a milestone when it had conducted a first subcritical test test on a weapon design; such testing continued until the early 1990s under codename: Kirana-I.[16]
Following nuclear tests by India earlier in the month, on 28 May 1998, PAEC led the final preparations and conducted Pakistan's first nuclear tests (Codename: Chagai-I), which was followed by Chagai-II in Kharan Desert on 30 May 1998. In 2001, the PAEC's research was focused back to civilian and peaceful research with the establishment of the National Command Authority and the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority.
