page_title: Project-706
section_title: Uranium route
hierarchical_section_title: Project-706 / Organization / Uranium route
caption_attribution_description: English: Among the nuclear weapons-related material that Libya permitted the United States to remove were these centrifuges acquired from Pakistan.
context_page_description: Project-706, also known as Project-726 was a codename of a project to develop Pakistan's first atomic bomb using uranium. At the same time, Pakistani nuclear technology scientists and engineers gained expertise in the use of reactor-grade plutonium and successfully produced weapons grade plutonium by the early 1980s.
  It was a major scientific effort of Pakistan. Project-706 refers specifically to the period from 1974–1983 when it was under the control of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and later on under the military administration of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. The project's roots lay in scientists' fears since 1967 that India was also developing nuclear weapons of its own. Developing nuclear technology for Pakistan was a main goal of Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who initiated the scientific research in 1972.
  Before the launching of Project-706 in 1974, the initial scientific research, starting from 1972, was directed and organized by renowned Pakistani scientist Abdus Salam. From 1974, the research was led by engineers Munir Ahmad Khan of PAEC and Abdul Qadeer Khan of KRL.
context_section_description: Natural uranium consists of only 99.3% ²³⁸U and only 0.7% ²³⁵U, but only the latter is fissile. The rarer but chemically identical ²³⁵U must be physically separated from the more plentiful isotope. This process of uranium enrichment into weapon-grade is extremely difficult and sensitive, and requires advanced technology.
  Before Khan's arrival, a Coordination Board was set up to manage and supervise the Projects' uranium-route. Sultan Bashiruddin Mehmood of the Nuclear Engineering Division, was made the project director. Khan took over the project from Mahmood as he wanted to work alone. This Board was composed of A G N Kazi, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Agha Shahi, and Munir Ahmad Khan. The Pakistan Defence Forces also had established their own boards to support the engineering research activities throughout the country. However, the ERL continued to remain under the overall supervision of PAEC till 1977 after which it was separated and made independent, but throughout the subsequent years and the 1980s, Munir Ahmad Khan continued to serve as a member and later as head of the Uranium enrichment project's Coordination Board. The PAEC sat its own uranium enrichment program to develop an advanced version for uranium fuel. The PAEC had worked on the most challenging method of isotope separation molecular laser isotopes, gaseous and thermal diffusion. All of these methods were developed and supervised under Shaukat Hameed Khan of the Laser Physics Group (LPG) and Sultan Bashiruddin Mehmood of the Nuclear Engineering Division (NED). At PAEC, the Laser Physics Group, under the direction of Shaukat Hameed Khan, developed the MLIS process for the isotopes separation. Meanwhile, the PAEC continued its support to Engineering Research Laboratories. The PAEC produced ⁶UF and provided its feedstock to KRL while the PAEC had used ⁶UF in both of their developed Gas and Thermal diffusion methods in their enrichment laboratories. In 1978, the PAEC had eliminated the MLIS method as secondary process due to its difficulty and complexity. A.Q. Khan's gas centrifuges also became a reason that PAEC was not supported to continue its work on MLIS method as secondary process. However, the PAEC did not completely abandon the work on MLIS method; instead it was continued for the research purposes only under Shaukat Hameed Khan. In 1982, the MLIS method was used to separate plutonium isotopes at the Neutron Activation Analysis Laboratory of the PINSTECH. For this, Shaukat Hameed Khan was conferred with a civil award by the president.
  Initially, the KRL scientists suffered many setbacks and were unable to develop the machine. While visiting at the Physics Hall of Qau, Alam met with Tasnim Shah, a professor of mathematics at Qau. Alam introduced Shah with KRL scientists where they examined the problems. It was followed by forming Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Division. The CFD Division analyzed the problems of the SWU—measuring the amount of work done by the centrifuge, and Centrifugal acceleration—how many rpm would a machine covered, and Rotational dynamics—what would be its appropriate rotational speed. Tasneem Shah gained fame when he independently analysed the issue, and assisted the KRL scientists to develop a powerful version of the centrifuges.
  As the problems were being resolved, Khan began the enrichment operations. By the start of 1983, the KRL had developed around 1,500–2,900 gas centrifuges loosely based on Urenco Group technology. It was thanks to Abdul Qadeer Khan's effort that on 4 June 1978, scientists working in the Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL) succeed in enriching uranium by electromagnetic isotope separation of ²³⁸U and ²³⁵U isotopes at the then-Pakistan Air Force controlled-Chaklala Air Force Base Centrifuge Laboratory (CACL). Ghulam Dastagir Alam, who co-headed the isotope separation project, informed Abdul Qadeer Khan. Khan immediately went to GHQ to informed General Zia-Ul-Haq.
  By the end of 1983, ERL/KRL under Qadeer Khan, claimed to carry out the first cold test of a single nuclear device but this is debated as the Pakist
caption: Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan's UF6 gas centrifuges
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