Pakistan to become 3rd largest nuclear power within a decade

Pakistan could become the third largest nuclear stock pile within the next five to ten years, behind only the United States and Russia, the Washington Post reported, quoting reports published by two American think tanks.

The report published on Thursday by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Stimson Center said that Pakistan, out of its fear of India, was far outperforming its rival neighbor in the development of nuclear warheads and may be building 20 nuclear warheads annually.

The report cites that Pakistan possesses around 120 nuclear warheads as compared to India’s 100, and that Pakistan could have at least 350 nuclear weapons within five to 10 years.

Pakistan’s lead over India could significantly grow due to its large stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.

Though India, in comparison to Pakistan, has far larger stockpiles of plutonium, which is needed to produce high-yield warheads, India appears to be using most of its plutonium to produce domestic energy.

According to the Federation of American Scientists, Cold War rivals Russia and the United States possess by far the lion’s share of the world’s nuclear arsenal, with an estimated 7,500 and 7,200 warheads, respectively. France, China and the United Kingdom each possess between 200 and 300 warheads, while India is currently thought to have about 100.