India and Pakistan may both be on the verge of expanding atomic fuel production work that could heighten a nuclear arms race between the historical foes, a prominent non-proliferation think tank said.
Fresh satellite imagery indicates Pakistan may intend to activate a new reprocessing plant "capable of separating weapons-grade plutonium out of spent reactor fuel" at its Chashma nuclear industrial park, the Institute for Science and International Security said in one of two matching studies.
India, meanwhile, appeared close to adding at least 3,000 centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium into fuel for power plants or bombs, to roughly 2,000-3,000 existing centrifuges at its Rare Materials Project (RMP) enrichment plant, ISIS said.
"This would significantly expand India's ability to make HEU (highly enriched uranium) for its military nuclear programmes and enable it to add thermonuclear weapons to its arsenal at a rate of at least a few per year," it said in the emailed report.
There was no immediate comment from Indian and Pakistani officials.
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