'Pak nuclear arsenal set to be world's third-biggest'

Pakistan has 120 nuclear heads while India has around 100.

(Reuters)

The report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Stimson Centre states that Pakistan is rapidly expanding its nuclear capabilities owing to a fear of Indian aggression.

Pakistan could have at least 350 nuclear weapons within the next five to 10 years, making it the world's third-largest nuclear stockpile, US media quoting a new report produced by two American think tanks reported on Thursday.

The report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Stimson Centre states that Pakistan is rapidly expanding its nuclear capabilities owing to a fear of Indian aggression.

However, Pakistan is far outpacing India in the development of nuclear warheads, the report adds. According to estimates, Pakistan has 120 nuclear heads while India has around 100.

Further, the report said Pakistan could be building up to 20 nuclear warheads annually.

"The growth path of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, enabled by existing infrastructure, goes well beyond the assurances of credible minimal deterrence provided by Pakistani officials and analysts after testing nuclear devices."The report stated that in the next few years, Pakistan's large stockpile of highly enriched uranium that could be used to quickly produce low-yield nuclear devices would become a growing advantage for the country. India on the other hand, has far larger stockpiles of plutonium, which is needed to produce high-yield warheads, than Pakistan does. However, India appears to be using most of its plutonium to produce domestic energy.

With increasing warheads, Pakistan would probably possess more nuclear weapons than any country except the United States and Russia which each have thousands of bombs.

Further, the report, written by Toby Dalton, co-director of the Carnegie Endowment's Nuclear Policy Programme, and Michael Krepon, co-founder of the Stimson Centre, noted that Pakistan is believed to use plutonium as well as highly enriched uranium to create nuclear warheads.

According to Dalton, Pakistan recently added a fourth plutonium production reactor at its Khushab Nuclear Complex. - Online