Chagai-I
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Chagai-I refers to the nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan in 1998. It was named Chagai-I as the tests were conducted in the Chagai District (Baluchistan province). Plans to conduct a nuclear test started in 1976 with Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) scientists frequently visiting the area to find a suitable location for an underground nuclear test, preferably a mountain. They chose the granite mountain Koh Kambaran in the Ras Koh range in the Chagai Division of Baluchistan. Its highest point rises to a height of 3,009 metres (sources vary).
The PAEC carried out five underground nuclear tests at the Chagai test site at 3:16 p.m. (PST) on the afternoon of May 28, 1998.[1][2] The yield of the tests was reported to be 40 kt.[3]. Following the tests, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif addressed the nation via Pakistan's government channel PTV and congratulated the entire nation and days of celebration followed throughout Pakistan.[citation needed]
The Directorate of Technical Development of PAEC which carried out the Chagai tests issued the following statement soon after the tests:[citation needed]
| “ | The mission has, on the one hand, boosted the morale of the Pakistani nation by giving it an honorable position in the nuclear world, while on the other hand it validated scientific theory, design and previous results from cold tests. This has more than justified the creation and establishment of DTD more than 20 years back | ” |
[edit] See also
- Abdul Qadeer Khan
- List of countries with nuclear weapons
- Pokhran-II - India's nuclear test on May 11, 1998
- Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction
[edit] External links
- Video of Pakistan's first Nuclear Test [1]
[edit] References
- ^ When Mountains Move RAI MUHAMMAD SALEH AZAM, defencejournal.com
- ^ Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Program - 1998: The Year of Testing Carey Sublette, nuclearweaponarchive.org
- ^ FAS.org (December 11, 2002). Pakistan Nuclear Weapons. www.fas.org.
