Pak's secret nuclear weapons programme infuriating US

Washington, Oct 11(ANI): Pakistan's secret nuclear weapons programme is reportedly infuriating the United States which is trying to cap worldwide stocks of fissile material.

According to the Daily Mail, the Obama administration is disturbed by revelations that a row of cooling towers at Pakistan's secret Khushab-III reactor has been completed.

The project was revealed by satellite images obtained by Washington-based nuclear watchdog, the Institute for Science and International Security.

The cooling towers suggest the plant could begin operation within months, allowing Pakistan to substantially increase its stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium.

The US is also believed to be worried about China's plans to build two new nuclear reactors in Pakistan.

The deal between Pakistan and China bypasses Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) rules that bar sales of nuclear equipment to states that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Talking about Pakistan's nuclear ambitions, Ashley Tellis, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: Pakistan thinks its going to be forced to cap its fissile material stocks and wants to make sure it has as much as it can get before then."

Earlier, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Rose Gottmeiler, had warned Pakistan that her country's "patience is running out".

Khushab-III is the latest in a series of reactors built to feed Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.

Khushab-II, located next to its new sister plant, became operational in February. (ANI)