a growing population and national economy. The primary focus of this program is to promote scientific and socio-economic development of the people as a "foremost priority." The policy was first stated by the former Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani during the meeting of Nuclear Command Authority; at this meeting, the program was approved by Prime minister Gillani on 14 July 2011. This includes to regulate the nuclear facilities, waste storage, along with an increase in power plant building. Both legislative, military and bureaucratic regulations of nuclear energy in Pakistan have been shaped by the scientific research and the public opinion. The governmental nuclear regulatory authorities in Pakistan has projected to produce 4345 MW electricity from nuclear sources in 2022; and 8800 MW electricity by 2030. Academic research The academic research on nuclear technology began in 1956, with the establishment of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. In 1965, United States provided a 10 MW research reactor – Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor-I (PARR) – to Pakistan. The PARR-Reactor consists of three research reactors with a single nuclear particle accelerator. The first reactor was supplied by the U.S. government in 1965 and it is operated by the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH). In 1969, the Center for Nuclear Studies was established, and it began its research in a small reactor that was provided by the PAEC. In 1989, the PAEC had built another small research reactor, known as Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor-II reactor. The PARR-II reactor is an indigenously built reactor by the PAEC, and is under IAEA safeguards since IAEA had funded this mega-project. In 1986, another "multipurpose" heavy water reactor, a 50 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) near Khushab, was built. Known as Khushab-I, it went critical and started its operations in April 1998. The complex is evidently for producing weapons-grade plutonium, isotope production and nuclear reprocessing. A similar or possibly larger heavy water reactor has been under construction at Khushab since about 2002. Khushab is reported to be making demands upon the country's limited uranium resources. Reprocessing of weapon-grade material is reported to take place at Chashma Nuclear Complex, 80 km west. See also Nuclear power Nuclear power by country Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction References Further reading Nuclear Power for Pakistan: Reviving the 3Es (Energy, Economy, and Environment), by Abdul Rehman Abbasi and Anwar ul Hasson Syed, in Proc. ICESE-2010. External links World Nuclear Organisation