ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday paid rich tributes to the political and military leadership that enabled Pakistan to successfully test its nuclear weapons on May 28, 1998.
Pakistan marks May 28 each year as Youm-e-Takbeer (Day of Greatness) when then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government successfully tested Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in response to India. After the tests of 1998, Pakistan became the only Islamic nation in the world to possess nuclear weapons and the seventh worldwide.
Islamabad has frequently said its nuclear weapons are for self-defense purposes only and has assured the world that its nuclear weapons are safely guarded against militants. The eight official nuclear powers are the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, North Korea, and Pakistan, while Israel is known to have nuclear weapons unofficially.
To mark the silver jubilee of the event, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on Twitter that the day reflected how consensus between all elements of national power achieved “what once looked like an uphill task.”
“All along, our armed forces remained a guardian & protector of the program in the face of malign intentions of our enemies,” he wrote.
“On the Silver Jubilee of Youm-e-Takbeer, I pay rich tributes to the political & military leadership, scientists, engineers and all those who remained associated with our nuclear program,” he added.
Sharif said that the hard work, commitment, and determination of the military and political leadership of the time made it possible for Pakistanis to guard their independence “from any physical threat.”
