ISLAMABAD: The nation is observing the 27th anniversary of Youm-e-Takbeer today with patriotic zeal to commemorate the nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan on this day in 1998.
The government has announced a public holiday to mark the occasion, with special ceremonies being organised across the country and in Pakistan’s mission abroad.
On this day, Pakistan became the seventh nuclear power of the world and the first Muslim state to have a nuclear arsenal in its defence stockpile, demonstrating the resolve of the nation to safeguard its territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty.
On May 28, 1998, the team of Pakistani scientists, led by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan and Dr Samar Mubarakmand, conducted five simultaneous underground nuclear tests at the RasKoh Hills in the Chagai District of Balochistan.
Codenamed Chagai-I, these tests marked Pakistan’s first public demonstration of its nuclear weapons capability, making it the seventh nation in the world and the first Muslim-majority country to possess nuclear arms.
This decision came as a direct response to India’s Pokhran-II nuclear tests, conducted earlier in May of the same year.
The historic statement of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that they would starve, but transform the country into a nuclear power, led to achievement of this milestone.
By resisting the mounting external pressures, the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif went for taking a bold decision to test the Pakistani nukes in response to Indian nuclear tests and thus balancing the strategic slanting power in the region.
The Pakistani tests were met with international condemnation, leading to the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172 and economic sanctions from major powers, including the United States and Japan.
PM, President pledge to safeguard country’s sovereignty
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed their pledge to uphold and safeguard Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In his message on the occasion, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed Pakistan’s nuclear journey and called for renewed unity and determination to transform the country into an economic power.
The Prime Minister linked this year’s commemoration with what he described as Pakistan’s recent success in defending itself from an unjustified war imposed by India.
He urged the nation to carry the spirit of Youm-e-Takbeer beyond defense and into economic transformation.
President Zardari, on the occasion, said that Pakistan’s nuclear capability continues to serve as a credible minimum deterrent that guarantees peace and ensures no one can undermine our sovereignty and national security.
He said Pakistan does not seek conflict and is committed to the principles of peaceful coexistence and respect for international law.
Asif Ali Zardari said that Pakistan demonstrated its strategic patience and commitment to peace in the face of recent unprovoked Indian aggression.
