Chagai-I is the

code name A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial ...

of five simultaneous underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15 hrs PKT on 28 May 1998. The tests were performed at Ras Koh Hills in the

Chagai District Chaghi District ( bal, ; urd, ), also known as Chaghi District, is the largest district of Pakistan by area, located in the north west corner of Balochistan, Pakistan. Demographics At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population ...

Balochistan Province Balochistan (; bal, بلۏچستان; ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It shares land ...

. Chagai-I was Pakistan's first public test of nuclear weapons. Its timing was a direct response to India's second nuclear test

Pokhran-II The Pokhran-II tests were a series of five nuclear bomb Nuclear weapons testing, test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran#Pokhran Nuclear Test Range, Pokhran Test Range in May 1998. It was the second instance of nuclear t ...

, on 11 and 13 May 1998. These tests by Pakistan and India resulted in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172 and

economic sanctions Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ...

on both states by a number of major powers, particularly the United States and Japan. By testing nuclear devices, Pakistan became the seventh country to publicly test nuclear weapons. Pakistan's second nuclear test,

Chagai-II Chagai-II is the codename assigned to the second atomic test conducted by Pakistan, carried out on 30 May 1998 in the Kharan Desert in Balochistan Province of Pakistan. ''Chagai-II'' took place two days after Pakistan's first successful test, ...

, followed on 30 May 1998.

Background

Several historical and political events and personalities in the 1960s and early 1970s led Pakistan to gradually transition to a program of nuclear weapons development, that began in 1972. Plans for

nuclear weapons testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

started in 1974. Chagai-I was the result of over two decades of planning and preparation, Pakistan becoming the seventh of eight states that have publicly admitted to testing nuclear weapons. The timing of Chagai-I was a direct response to India's second nuclear tests,

, also called ''Operation Shakti'', on 11 and 13 May 1998.2009 Chagai-I was Pakistan's first of two public tests of

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

s. Pakistan's second nuclear test,

, followed on 30 May 1998. In 2005,

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

testified that "Pakistan may have had an atomic device long before, and her father had told her from his prison cell that preparations for a nuclear test had been made in 1977, and he expected to have an atomic test of a nuclear device in August 1977." However, the plan was moved on to December 1977 and later it was delayed indefinitely to avoid international reaction; thus obtaining deliberate ambiguity. In an interview with

Hamid Mir Hamid Mir ( ur, حامد میر; born 23 July 1966) is a Pakistani journalist, columnist and writer. Born in Lahore to a journalistic family, Mir initially worked as a journalist with Pakistani newspapers. He has hosted the political talk show ' ...

in ''

Capital Talk ''Capital Talk'' is the Flagship (broadcasting), flagship political talk show broadcast on Geo News. Hosted by Hamid Mir, Capital Talk looks at the challenges, issues and concerns facing Pakistan on a daily basis. The format includes several gu ...

'' which aired on

Geo News Geo News is a Rank Number 1 Pakistani news channel owned by the Jang Media Group. History The Geo Television Network started out with the launch of its flagship channel Geo TV in October 2002 but has since launched several other channels whic ...

in 2005, Dr. Samar Mubarakmand confirmed Bhutto's testimony and maintained that PAEC developed the design of an atomic bomb in 1978 and had successfully conducted a cold test after building the first atomic bomb in 1983.

Location

Safety and security required a remote, isolated and unpopulated mountainous area. The

Geological Survey of Pakistan Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) is an independent executive scientific agency to explore the natural resources of Pakistan. Main tasks GSP perform are Geological, Geophysical and Geo-chemical Mapping of Pakistan. Target of these mapping are r ...

(GSP) conducted tests to select a "bone dry" mountain capable of withstanding a 20–40 kilotonne (kt) detonation from the inside. The scientists wanted dry weather, and very little wind to spread radioactive fallout. Koh Kambaran located in the Ras Koh Hills was selected in 1978. Due to widespread imprecise reporting which mentioned the Chagai Hills region prior to the actual explosion, there is sometimes geographic confusion. Both the Chagai Hills and the Ras Koh Hills are situated in the

, but the Ras Koh Hills lie to the south of Chagai Hills, and are separated from the Chagai Hills by a large valley. Throughout the 1980s, the

Governor of Balochistan The Governor of Balochistan is the head of the province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The post was established on 1 July 1970, after the dissolution of West Pakistan province and the end of One Unit. Under Pakistan's current parliamentary system, the ...

, General

Rahimuddin Khan Rahimuddin Khan (21 July 1926 – 22 August 2022) was a general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 4th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987, after serving as the 7th governor of Balochistan from 1978 to 1984. He also ...

, led the

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

work.

Decision-making

After India's

tests on 11–13 May 1998, statements by

Indian politicians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

further escalated the situation.

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

curtailed his state visit to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

to meet with President

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...

and returned to Pakistan. The decision to conduct tests took place at a meeting that Sharif convened with the Chairman joint chiefs, General Jehangir Karamat, Dr.

Abdul Qadeer Khan Abdul Qadeer Khan, (; ur, ; 1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021), known as A. Q. Khan, was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and metallurgical engineer. He was a key figure in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and is colloquially known as the ...

, Ishfaq Ahmad, and

Munir Ahmad Khan Munir Ahmad Khan ( ur, ; 20 May 1926 – 22 April 1999), , was a Pakistani nuclear reactor physicist who is credited, among others, with being the "father of the atomic bomb program" of Pakistan for their leading role in developing their nati ...

and members of the

Cabinet of Pakistan Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. In talks with Sharif, the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, offered a lucrative aid package in an attempt to get Pakistan to refrain from

nuclear testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

, and sent high level civic-military delegations led by

Strobe Talbott Nelson Strobridge Talbott III (born April 25, 1946) is an American foreign policy analyst focused on Russia. He was associated with '' Time'' magazine, and a diplomat who served as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001. He was presiden ...

and General

Anthony Zinni Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a former United States Marine Corps general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special envoy for the United States t ...

to Pakistan to lobby against the tests. Popular public opinion in Pakistan was in favor of nuclear blasts.

Information minister An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...

Mushahid Hussain Mushahid Hussain Syed ( Punjabi, ur, مشاہد حسین سید‬; b. 1953) is a Pakistani politician, and journalist who is currently the Pakistan Senator from the Islamabad Capital Territory on the platform of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) ...

was the first who argued for the tests in reply to the Indian nuclear tests. The

Opposition leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

, spoke emphatically in favour of Pakistani atomic tests. At the NSC's

cabinet meeting A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries ...

, the

Pakistani government The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories, ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, and civilian officials were participating in a debate, broadening, and complicating the decision-making process. Chairman joint chiefs, General

Karamat In Sunni Islam, ''karamat'' ( ar, کرامات ''karāmāt'', pl. of ''karāmah'', lit. generosity, high-mindedness) refers to supernatural wonders performed by Muslim saints. In the technical vocabulary of Islamic religious sciences, the sin ...

and Air chief ACM (General)

Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi Air Chief Marshal Parvaiz Mehdi Qureshi ( ur, ; born 1 October 1943) best known as PQ Mehdi, is a retired four-star air officer and a former fighter pilot who served as the eighth Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the Pakistan Air Force, appoint ...

supported the matter and left the decision on the government. Naval chief Admiral

Fasih Bokhari Admiral Fasih Bokhari (; 8 March 1942 – 24 November 2020) was a Pakistani admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 to 1999. He was a well-known pacifist and a prominent political figure as the Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 ...

and

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

Sartaj Aziz Sartaj Aziz ( ur, ; born 7 February 1929) is a Pakistani economist and a strategist, having previously served as the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of Pakistan, member of the federal cabinet as the ''de facto'' Minister for For ...

argued against the tests on financial grounds; though Aziz later staunchly backed the decision to test calling it as "right decision." Dr.

argued in favor of tests and was supported by Samar Mubarakmand and Munir Ahmad Khan while Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad argued that "the decision to test or not to test was that of the Government of Pakistan despite the say of the

scientific community The scientific community is a diverse network of interacting scientists. It includes many " sub-communities" working on particular scientific fields, and within particular institutions; interdisciplinary and cross-institutional activities are als ...

." Concluding the final arguments, Ishfaq Ahmad said: "Mr. Prime Minister, take a decision and, ''

Insha'Allah ''In sha'Allah'' (; ar, إِنْ شَاءَ ٱللَّٰهُ, ʾIn shāʾ Allāh ), also spelled In shaa Allah, InshAllah, Insya Allah and İnşAllah is an Arabic language expression meaning "if god wills" or "god willing". It was mentioned ...

'', I give you the guarantee of success". With the G8 group's sanctions having very little effect on India and skepticism towards United States commitment, the

economists built up the final consensus hardening around the idea that "there is no economic price for

security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

". Despite being under pressure by U.S. President

, Prime Minister Sharif authorized the nuclear tests by ordering the PAEC in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' In May 1998, a C-130 aircraft with four escorting

F-16 Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

jets secretly flew the

completely knocked down A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...

sub-assembly nuclear devices from

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan ...

to Chagai. In 1999, in an interview given to Pakistani and Indian journalists in Islamabad, Sharif said: If India had not exploded the bomb, Pakistan would not have done so. Once New Delhi did so, We harif Governmenthad no choice because of public pressure.

Weapon yield

The

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) (Urdu: ) is a federally funded independent governmental agency, concerned with research and development of nuclear power, promotion of nuclear science, energy conservation and the peaceful usage of nuclea ...

(PAEC) carried out five underground nuclear tests at the Chagai test site at 1515 hours. ( PKT) on the afternoon of 28 May 1998. The observation post was established about 10 km (≈6.21 miles) from the test vicinity, with members of Mathematics Group and Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) led by Dr. Masud Ahmad and

Asghar Qadir Asghar Qadir ( ur, اصغر قادر born 23 July 1946) ''HI'', ''SI'', ''FPAS'', is a Pakistani mathematician and a prominent cosmologist, specialised in mathematical physics and physical cosmology. He is considered one of the top mathema ...

charged with calculating the

nuclear weapon yield The explosive yield of a nuclear weapon is the amount of energy released when that particular nuclear weapon is detonated, usually expressed as a TNT equivalent (the standardized equivalent mass of trinitrotoluene which, if detonated, would prod ...

. Determination of accurate and precise blast yields and

shock waves In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...

is challenging because there are different ways in which the yields can be determined. The TPG predicted the total maximum test yields with an energy equivalent to be ~40 kilotons of

TNT equivalent TNT equivalent is a convention for expressing energy, typically used to describe the energy released in an explosion. The is a unit of energy defined by that convention to be , which is the approximate energy released in the detonation of a ...

, with the largest (boosted) device yielding 30–36 kilotons. Other scientists estimated a yield of 6–13 kilotons or, based on the

seismic wave A seismic wave is a wave of acoustic energy that travels through the Earth. It can result from an earthquake, volcanic eruption, magma movement, a large landslide, and a large man-made explosion that produces low-frequency acoustic ener ...

data, a yield of 12–20 kt. Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) and Dr.

held to their estimates. The PAEC's mathematics division placed the scientific data in the public domain and published seismic activities, mathematical graphs, and mathematical formulas used to calculate the yield; though certain scientific information remains classified. From scientific data received by PAEC, it appears that Pakistan did not test a

thermonuclear device A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

, as opposed to India. According to Ishfaq Ahmad, PAEC had no plans to develop a hydrogen device for economic reasons, even though back in 1974, Riazuddin proposed such a plan to Abdus Salam, Director of Theoretical Physics Group that time. From the outset, PAEC concentrated on developing smaller

tactical nuclear weapon A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territo ...

s easily installed on

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

(PAF) aircraft,

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Qur'an, 3:173'') , type ...

combatant vessels, and missiles. Shortly after the tests, former chairman and technical director Munir Ahmad Khan famously quoted: "These boosted devices are like a half way stage towards a thermonuclear bomb. They use elements of the thermonuclear process, and are effectively stronger atom bombs..... Pakistan has had a nuclear capability since 1984 and all the Pakistani devices were made with

enriched uranium Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238U ...

." On the other hand, Abdul Qadeer Khan further provided technical details on fission devices while addressing the local media as he puts it: "All boosted fission devices using Uranium 235 on 28 May. None of these explosions were thermonuclear, we are doing research and can do a fusion test if asked. But it depends on the circumstances, political situation and the decision of the government. As opposed to India's thermonuclear approach, Dr. N. M. Butt, senior scientist, stated that "PAEC built a sufficient number of

neutron bomb A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the b ...

s— a battlefield weapon that is essentially a low yield device".

Reactions

In Pakistan, the news of the nuclear detonations was met by street celebrations. Prime Minister

addressed the nation via the Pakistani government's state owned channel

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical c ...

(PTV), congratulated the public and days of celebration followed throughout Pakistan. The Directorate of Technical Development of PAEC which carried out the Chagai tests issued the following statement soon after the tests: Pakistan's President

Rafiq Tarar Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (; ur, ; 2 November 1929 – 7 March 2022) was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the ninth president of Pakistan from January 1998 until his resignation in June 2001, and prior to that as a senator from Punja ...

declared a state of emergency, which introduced measures to protect Pakistan's finances and currency. After the test, the national media in Pakistan posted biographies of the involved scientists. Senior scientists and engineers were invited by academic institutes and universities to deliver lectures on

mathematical Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

theoretical A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be ...

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

and

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

. The institutes bestowed hundreds of

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

lions and

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

s to the scientists and engineers in 1998.

International

The Chagai-I tests were condemned by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

, the United States, Japan,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

,US-Iraq War: India's Middle East policy
and by many non-

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

(OIC) countries. The

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...

adopted Resolution 1172, condemning the tests by both India and Pakistan. From 1998 to 1999, the U.S. held a series of talks with Pakistan to persuade them to become party to the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nati ...

(CTBT) and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), with Pakistan refusing amid a fear of lack of security commitment by the U.S. and the growing ties between India and the United States. The U.S., Japan, Australia, Sweden, Canada, and

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

(IMF) imposed

on Pakistan. On the other hand,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

, and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

congratulated Pakistan where major celebrations took place. All new U.S. economic assistance to Pakistan was suspended in May 1998 though

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and v ...

continued. The composition of assistance to Pakistan shifted from monetary grants towards

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

s repayable in foreign exchange. In the long term, the sanctions were eventually permanently lifted by the U.S. after Pakistan became a front-line ally in the war against terror in 2001. Having improved its finances, the Pakistani government ended its IMF program in 2004.

Development teams

The three main development teams were the

(PAEC) (including Ishfaq Ahmad, who was Chairman of the PAEC; Samar Mubarakmand; Irfan Burney, Anwar Ali; Hafeez Qureshi and Masud Ahmad), the

Kahuta Research Laboratories The Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories, ( ur, ) or KRL for short, is a federally funded, multi-program national research institute and national laboratory site primarily dedicated to uranium enrichment, supercomputing and fluid mechanics. It ...

(KRL) (including

, who was

Director General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

of KRL; and

Tasneem M. Shah Tasneem Mohammad Shah ( ur, ), SI, TI, was a Pakistani scientist and a prominent mathematician who has made pioneering and instrumental research and contributions to the field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) at A. Q. Khan Research La ...

), and the

Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers "The Moving Spirit" , colors = , colors_label = Colours , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , ...

(PACE) (including Lieutenant-General

Zulfikar Ali Khan Major Nawab Sayyid Zulfikar Ali Khan Bahadur (11 March 1934 – 5 April 1992) was an Indian politician and an Indian army officer who ruled as Titular Nawab of Rampur from 1982 to 1992, succeeding his elder brother Murtaza Ali Khan Baha ...

Commemoration

Signed into law by

, 28 May is officially declared as

Youm-e-Takbir Youm-e-Takbir ( ur, ; lit. ''The day of greatness'') is celebrated as a national day in Pakistan on May 28 in commemoration of Chagai-I and Chagai-II series of nuclear tests. The nuclear tests made Pakistan the seventh nation to possess nuclear ...

(lit. ''Day of Greatness''), as well as National Science Day, to commemorate the date of the first five tests and honour the scientific efforts to develop the program. Awards, such as Chagai-Medal, are given to various individuals and industries in the field of science. The Pakistani government established the ''Chagai-I Medal'', first awarded in 1998 to the scientists who witnessed the tests. The granite mountains are visibly shown in the gold medallion and equal ribbon stripes of yellow, red and white.

Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Punjabis, Punjabi Pakistani theoretical physici ...

(1926–1996) was awarded the

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

in 1979 for the discovery of

electroweak interaction In particle physics, the electroweak interaction or electroweak force is the unified description of two of the four known fundamental interactions of nature: electromagnetism and the weak interaction. Although these two forces appear very differe ...

. In 1998, the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

issued a commemorative stamp in his honour. In 1999, the government established a museum at the National Center for Physics, where Salam's contribution to scientific programs and efforts were recorded and televised.

References

Further information

* * * * * * * * * * {{Nuclear power in Pakistan Pakistani nuclear weapons testing 1998 in Pakistan 1998 in military history Code names Underground nuclear weapons testing Nuclear history of Pakistan Political history of Pakistan History of science and technology in Pakistan Nawaz Sharif administration Science and technology in Pakistan 1998 in science May 1998 events in Asia