ISLAMABAD: Pakistan could be building a new uranium enrichment complex, according to commercial satellite imagery analysed by Western defence experts.
“The construction of a new site, based in the town of Kahuta, some thirty kilometres east of Islamabad, provides fresh evidence of how Pakistan is seeking to boost its atomic arsenal,” said the analysis.
The analysis was conducted by IHS Jane’s Intelligence review using satellite images taken by Airbus Defence and Space on September28, 2015 and then again on April18, 2016.
A 2015 report written by scholars at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Stimson Centre said Pakistan could increase its stockpile by 20 warheads a year and have the world’s third largest in a decade. “The area of interest is approximately 1.2 hectares and is located within the secure area of the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), in the south-western part of the complex,” said the statement.
Karl Dewey, a proliferation analyst at IHS Jane’s added, “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. This makes it a strong candidate for a new centrifuge 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,” he said.
“This may be more than coincidence as AQ Khan, considered by many to be the founder of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, worked at URENCO,” said Charlie Cartwright, an imagery analyst for IHS Jane’s.
Pakistan is currently seeking to join the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group that seeks to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture atomic weapons.
“It is difficult to see how these actions are consistent with the principles of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a group of responsible nuclear exporters which Pakistan is seeking to join,” said Ian Stewart, head of research group Project Alpha at King’s College London.
