http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/June/subcontinent_June831.xml§ion=subcontinentWASHINGTON - Pakistan appears to be building a third plutonium production reactor at its Khushab nuclear site in order to build more powerful atomic bombs, a research group said on Thursday.
The construction was seen on commercial satellite imagery, according to the Institute for Science and International Security, or ISIS. It comes at a time when relations with a key US ally in the anti-terror war are already under some strain.
“Pakistan may have concluded that it needs to improve the quality of its nuclear arsenal and build a new generation of lighter, more powerful weapons,” said ISIS President David Albright and researcher Paul Brannen, in an analysis.
They said the activity at Khushab and also at a plutonium separation facility at Chasma, 50 miles (80 km) west of Khushab, “should be viewed as a sign of an accelerated nuclear arms race” between Pakistan and its nuclear-armed adversary, India. snip
Rep. Edward Markey, a senior member of the US House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee and the co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force on Non-Proliferation, said the news would cause him to redoubled efforts to halt the sale of nuclear-capable F-16 aircraft to Pakistan.