Uproar in Indian parliament over Pakistan’s N-plans
India’s parliament was in turmoil on Wednesday after Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee turned down opposition’s demand to comment on Pakistan’s nuclear expansion plans, saying a statement on the issue was a serious matter and could not be produced like instant coffee.
Opposition MPs had sought the government’s point of view on media reports that Pakistan was building a 1000MW nuclear power station which was capable of producing material for 50 nuclear bombs.
Mr Digvijay Singh, minister in waiting for President Gen Pervez Musharraf during the Agra summit, raised the issue. He wanted India to have a ‘rethink’ on the US civil nuclear deal which prescribed freezing of weapons programme, an issue all the more serious in view of Pakistan building a huge nuclear capacity.
He was joined by Mr Shahid Siddiqui of Samajwadi Party and BJP’s Dr Murli Manohar Joshi who protested against the “double standard” prescribed by the United States for India and Pakistan.
Re: Uproar in Indian parliament over Pakistan’s N-plans
We have total control over our nuclear program, which we are expanding quite publicly with the US not too bothered. While the Indian’s have just handed over control of their program to the US.
New York, July 27: Pakistan currently has between 25 and 50 nuclear weapons, mostly relatively simple uranium arms with “modest” yields around the size of the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, claimed a journal. The Nature magazine’s claim followed media reports that satellite photos of Pakistan’s Khushab nuclear site have shown what appears to be a partially completed heavy-water reactor capable of a 20-fold increase from its current nuclear capabilities. Quoting director of Globalsecurity.Org, a non-profit group that specialises in image analysis John Pike, Nature says if the new facility is what it seems to be, it would allow Pakistan to build a lot more bombs. The reactor is “gigantic” and would allow Pakistan to increase its total number of weapons tenfold, he says. Plutonium can be used to construct smaller and more lightweight weapons than uranium.
Most uranium bombs require 15 to 20 kilograms of material, but plutonium weapons can be built with as little as 5 kilograms. That makes it easier to fit plutonium warheads on missiles. In addition, small plutonium bombs are often used to trigger larger hydrogen weapons. So the technology, says Pike, is an important step towards developing those bombs, which are thousands of times more powerful than uranium and plutonium weapons. The reactor seems to be still under construction and several years from completion, Pike says, adding that to make bombs, Pakistan needs to chemically separate the plutonium from spent reactor fuel, which requires a special reprocessing facility. It is not known whether the country has such a facility, according to Pike. Many other countries have plutonium-reprocessing facilities including Russia, China, India, Israel, North Korea, the United States, Britain and Japan. “If Pakistan gets a big stockpile then India’s going to have to get a big stockpile and the Chinese are going to have to go back and count their pennies,” says Pike. The result could be an accelerating arms race in southern Asia.
Re: Uproar in Indian parliament over Pakistan’s N-plans
Our new Nuclear Power Plant can make over 50 nukes.
So, I think we should have around 250 Nukes
Useless junk, if you don't mind me saying, until World War III starts which probably be in the next 10-15 years, which I know indians r dying for it to get started. All this peace and friendship talk is all bull, india is just waiting for an excuse to attack, you can tell from all their media reports.
Re: Uproar in Indian parliament over Pakistan’s N-plans
A Pak friend told me this joke long back.....It is a State secrete in Pakistan where the Atomic reactor is located.....and when the local passanger bus crooses by, the conductor shouts....Atomic reactor stop aa gya, .....Atomic reactor wale wale chalo.
Re: Uproar in Indian parliament over Pakistan’s N-plans
Even before the US House passed the Indian nuclear agreement, India voted twice against Iran at the IAEA just to please America (no conditions the Indian's say?). While we in Pakistan have stood against US plans against Iran, and maintained an independent nuclear programme, which we are now vastly progressing.
Re: Uproar in Indian parliament over Pakistan’s N-plans
We have had rather close nuclear ties for a long time, and still we can get away with it. You guys will keep on voting as per US diktats, and much much more in coming years and hand over you nuke program at the same time to them, while we are expanding ours.
Re: Uproar in Indian parliament over Pakistan’s N-plans
Yeah, I agree with you. US will make us do a U-turn on our policies (like Pakistan did with Taliban). US will have bases in India and carpet bomb our own territory.
JReza, just wait for 15-20 years and I hope you'll be alive by then to see the fate of both the countries.
I believe ya 
You guys will keep on voting as per US diktats, and much much more in coming years and hand over you nuke program at the same time to them, while we are expanding ours.