An important but little-known attempt was made by Pakistan in the early 1970s to imitate the design of India’s Cirus reactor, which stands for Canada India Reactor Utility Services and was essential to India’s development of nuclear weapons. The Cirus reactor, a 40 MW thermal neutron research facility constructed with Canadian aid, has been in service since 1960 at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay. It played a key role in the production of plutonium for the 1974 Smiling Buddha, India’s first nuclear test.
Feroz H. Khan, a significant player in Pakistan’s nuclear program, has disclosed that his country is attempting to replicate the Cirus reactor. In his book “Eating Grass: The Making Of The Pakistani Bomb,” he describes the 1965 meeting between Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Munir Ahmed Khan, a well-known nuclear official in Pakistan at the time. They talked about how urgent it is to create a nuclear weapons program in light of India’s nuclear technological breakthroughs at this discussion. The strategic move towards Pakistan’s own nuclear capability was sparked by this meeting.
Khan claims that a secret team was formed to duplicate the Cirus design. Under the direction of Sardar Ali Khan, this group of people worked on many facets of the reactor’s engineering and design. Despite their efforts, Feroz Khan questioned whether it would be possible to successfully replicate the Cirus reactor because of the significant disparities between its design and that of Pakistan’s current Karachi Nuclear Power Complex (KANUPP).
Although they made an effort to modify the Cirus design to suit their requirements, Khan pointed out that there were several obstacles that would make this endeavor difficult. The effort sought to achieve technological autonomy while negotiating global nuclear proliferation monitoring.
Despite being made more than ten years ago, Feroz H. Khan’s revelation regarding Pakistan’s attempt to copy India’s Cirus reactor design has taken on new importance in light of the recent U.S. sanctions announcement that specifically targets Pakistan’s ballistic missile development program. A significant change in U.S. policy about Pakistan’s military capabilities is represented by these penalties, which target the National Development Complex, a state-run organization engaged in missile development.
The competitive nature of nuclear development in South Asia is highlighted by the attempt to replicate the Cirus reactor. It represents Pakistan’s strategic objective of becoming technologically independent in the face of India’s nuclear-powered influence on regional security dynamics. Both nations have experienced substantial ramifications from these changes, which have influenced their respective military and foreign policy approaches throughout the years.
Renewing U.S. sanctions against Pakistan’s missile development projects have sparked recent debates on the subject, highlighting worries about the country’s developing military capabilities and its effects on regional stability.
