On 28th May 1998 at 1515 Hours (PST) near Chagai District of Baluchistan Province the Ras Koh Hills were witnessing a rogue nation becoming a nuclear power. Pakistan conducted its first test in response to India’s second nuclear test.
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) carried out five underground nuclear tests at the Chagai test site at 15:15 p.m. (PST) on the afternoon of 28 May 1998. The observation post was established about 10 km (≈6.21 miles) from the test vicinity, with members of Mathematics Group and Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) led by Dr. Masud Ahmad and Asghar Qadir charged with calculating the nuclear weapon yield.
Determination of accurate and precise blast yields and shock waves is challenging because there are different ways in which the yields can be determined. The TPG predicted the total maximum test yields with an energy equivalent 30–36 kilotons. Whereas international scientist community refused to accept the calculation and they estimated a yield of 6–13 kilotons.
From scientific data received by PAEC, it appears that Pakistan did not test a thermonuclear device, as opposed to India. According to Ishfaq Ahmad, PAEC had no plans to develop a hydrogen device for economic reasons, even though back in 1974, Riazuddin proposed such a plan to Abdus Salam, Director of Theoretical Physics Group that time. From the outset, PAEC concentrated on developing smaller tactical nuclear weapons.
At present Pakistan is the only country in the world which possesses suicidal tactical nuclear bomb mounted on the (Hataf IX) or Nasr Missile with an operational range of 37 Miles.
Though this demonstrates the “Fidyaiyan” mindset of Pakistan but more interesting is to know even this capability would have been eliminated if “Operation Kahuta” was completed.
Way back then, After 1974 Pokhran test RAW was sure that being very wary of India’s fledging nuclear capabilities, Pakistan will try this fancy adventure but processing plants for nuclear fuel is tedious job and getting the same in 5-6 years was not easy. Just like Canada and US cooperated with India, France cooperated with Pakistan for Mirage 3 (fighter jet deal).
But French help was an open deal and aimed at electricity whereas China was helping Pakistan from behind the curtains and through North Korea. AQ Khan visited Pyongyang and MOSSAD planted few spy around him.
In late 1970s RAW started establishing its network and its entrenched by 1973-74. The cooperation between MOSSAD & RAW enabled intelligence exchanges and Kahuta– A small city near Rawalpindi Pakistan was spotted. Though the Raw network was brawny but security of this plant was robust. Thus RAW by demonstrating exemplary acuity obtained the hair samples of the Pakistani nuclear scientists as all of them were using same barber shop. Hair samples were then analysed and no surprise it was plutonium. Primer ingredient for a nuclear bomb !!!
Israel straightaway wanted to bomb the Kahuta plant by using Gujarat’s Jamnagar base to launch its jets and another base for refuelling. IAF was eager too and they in fact had a plan and wanted political nod.
What happened after that was even more shocking. Then Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who used to be on talking terms with General Zia Ul Haq, let it slip on a phone conversation and rest was a history. This political betrayal has caused RAW thousands of men and at least two decade hit on Pakistan specific intelligence.
If Nishan-e-Pakistan Morarji Desai wouldn’t have done this blunder this everyday threat of nuke wouldn’t have been there.
Can India try doing the same even today? Especially in lights of Pakistan’s incapability of second strike and India’s changed stance on “No first strike capability” Former Defence minister Manohar Parikar has spoken about “No first use” policy in public and words from man with such a stature means a lot. The Man behind the political will to conduct Surgical Strike across the LOC and was appreciated by PM Narendra Modi several times.
The Hans M. Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists has posted on his blog a satellite picture of what is almost certainly a Pakistani nuclear weapons storage site near the Masroor Air Force base, some 12 km from Karachi. The picture features the special security that nuclear weapons facilities have, as well as their well separated storage bunkers. If a blogger can spot Pakistani nuclear stockpile, then I am sure RAW MOSSAD & CIA won’t be sipping coffee. With Modi, Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu trio this could be a breaking news.. what you think let us know in the comments below.
Jai Hind
