Pak has as much fissile material as India: Report

[LETHALFORCE]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...erial-as-India-Report/articleshow/6245066.cms

NEW DELHI: Pakistan may already have not just more nuclear warheads than India but also almost as much fissile material as its eastern neighbour to assemble an almost equal number of more nukes. These worrying disclosures for India are a part of a report on world nuclear stockpile by top US nuclear experts and researchers Hans M Kristensen and Robert S Norris for the prestigious Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

Titled `Global Nuclear Weapons Inventories, 1945-2010', the report said Pakistan had already assembled 70-90 nuclear warheads against India's 60-80. Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists and Norris of National Resources Defense Council also said in the report that Pakistan had produced enough fissile material to manufacture 90 more warheads.

According to the report, India has fissile material to produce between 60 to 105 warheads which is almost the same as Pakistan. Islamabad has till nowalmost single-handedly blocked any forward movement on a fissile material cut-off treaty in the Conference on Disarmament saying that any ban on fissile material production would freeze the "asymmetry'' between the two countries.

India, on its part, has opposed Pakistan's contention with the understanding that it possesses much more fissile material than its neighbour. However, the report by Norris and Kristensen shows that India and Pakistan are actually almost neck and neck when it comes to possessing fissile material.

While stating that both countries were increasing their stockpiles, the report added that majority of Indian and Pakistani warheads were not "operationally deployed''. The report comes close on the heels of another report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) which said Pakistan had 60 warheads and that it could produce 100 more at short notice.

The report estimated that China's nuclear arsenal comprised 240 warheads. It said China's warheads armed not just its old liquid-fuelled missiles but also the solid-fuel missiles which are now being introduced. "China also has a small inventory of air-delivered nuclear bombs. China keeps additional warheads in storage,'' it said.

The report said that as per the US intelligence community, China would increase its number of warheads on long-range ballistic missiles from 50 to well over 100 in the next 15 years. According to the report, China is also building a nuclear triad which will enable it to launch a nuclear strike from ballistic missiles, submarines and airborne strategic bombers and enhance its second strike capability.

 

[dineshchaturvedi]

We tend to get over worried about nukes and Pakistan. Understand this that Pakistan and India has different philosophy, while Pakistan exaggerates whatever it has India downplays it. All these reports at the end collect data from government. I feel India is doing very good job here, not even a single lose statement on Nukes. What it means is that world sees us a sensible nuclear power and Pakistan other way round. I am not worried about who has more bombs kind of, trust me these will never be used and they are high maintenance toys. By the way the world was better wtihout Nukes.

 

[nitesh]

excuse me,

aren't we are peace loving country?


any way read this:

http://www.princeton.edu/sgs/publications/sgs/archive/Rajaraman-Vol-16-No-3.pdf

 

[The Messiah]

we probably have much more than we disclose.

pak show off while we hide...it basically shows pak inferiority complex.

 

[hungo]

If one thing i can count on is India having a sensible approach to these kind of matters .It's only the fanatics next door who'd think they need 3-4 nukes for every mile of Indian territory.

 

[Param]

If one thing i can count on is India having a sensible approach to these kind of matters .It's only the fanatics next door who'd think they need 3-4 nukes for every mile of Indian territory.

Its their sense of insecurity.

 

[Yusuf]

One question. Fissile material, same number of kgs is fine. But pak program is uranium based and Indias plutonium. Plutonium bomb takes lesser kgs of fissile material than uranium. India should be able to make more bombs.
David Albright years ago said india is having so much weapons and reactor grade plutonium that it can make 2000 bombs. Seriously all these reports just don't make sense. Indias nuke policy is at any time determines the number of warheads. Beyond that we will not stock as it costs money to do so.

 

[dove]

This is just another one in a series of fishing expeditions by the west to get some indian 'expert' to react and expose how many nukes india actually has. When a 'think-tank' gets a budget for this kind of thing, they have to put out this stuff once in a while to keep their jobs. No need to read anything more into this.