According to western defence experts Pakistan might be building a new uranium enrichment complex as observed by commercial satellite imagery. The analysis conducted by IHS Jane’s Intelligence review using satellite images says that construction of a new site in the town of Kahuta, some thirty kilometres east of Islamabad, provides fresh evidence of Pakistan boosting nuclear arsenal.
Pakistan, which has the world’s fastest-growing nuclear stockpile, is believed to have around 120 nuclear weapons, more than India, Israel and North Korea. The analysts have said that Pakistan could increase its stockpile by 20 warheads a year and have the world’s third largest in a decade.
While describing the site area, Karl Dewey, a proliferation analyst at IHS Jane’s said that it is sited within an established centrifuge facility, has strong security and shows some of the structural features of a possible new uranium enrichment facility.
The structure of the site also bears strong resemblance to facilities built by nuclear fuel company URENCO which also operates several nuclear plants in Europe.
Earlier the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan had made a statement that nuclear armed Pakistan has ability to target Indian capital Delhi in five minutes.
