Satellite images show that Pakistan is building a nuclear reactor that could be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium, a US watchdog says.
It has warned that its construction could contribute to another nuclear arms race with neighbouring India.
The Institute of Science for International Security (Isis) says photos taken earlier this month show work is “rapidly progressing”.
But Pakistani officials say there is nothing untoward about the work.
Isis says the reactor is being built at Khusab, 160km south-west of Islamabad.
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It says that its construction and other nuclear-related activities “imply” that Pakistan has opted to “increase significantly its production of plutonium for nuclear weapons”.
– BBC (June 23, 2007)
