Pakistan Could Soon Have World’s Third Largest Nuclear Arsenal

Two American think tanks have recently come to the conclusion that Pakistan may be increasing its production of nuclear weapons. According to the Stimson Center and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (whose members are known to attend Bilderberg from time to time) Pakistan may be building as many as 20 nuclear warheads per year. At that rate, their arsenal could surpass France’s and China’s within 10 years (unless of course China has more nukes than they’re letting on).

They largely base this assertion on the fact that Pakistan has a massive supply of enriched uranium, and is increasing its production of plutonium. Countries like India also have a huge stockpile of fissile materials, but most of their supply is being used for power production. Pakistan only has 3 nuclear plants in operation, while India has 7. Other Pakistani analysts however, believe that the report is “overblown” but admit that Pakistan is still interested in expanding its nuclear capabilities to some degree. One nuclear expert from the University of Islamabad asserted that they could build 40-50 nukes in the coming years.

Given the elitist credentials of the think tanks that produced the report, their findings may well be overblown. However, the mountains of Pakistan are still a powder keg of potential conflict. The province of Kashmir is hotly contested by Pakistan, India, and China, all of which have nuclear weapons; and India has fought multiple wars with both countries over the past 50 years. A new arms race in region is certainly within the realm possibility.