Thanks to Wikipedia for the following information: Project-706, also known asProject-726was a codename of a project conducted during theCold WarandRusso-Afghan Warwith the objective to developPakistan's firstatomic weapon. The main goal of the project was the development of an atomic bomb usingUraniumtechnology. At the same time, Pakistani scientists and engineers gained expertise in the use ofreactor-grade plutoniumand successfully producedweapon-gradePlutoniumby the early 1980s. The project was launched after the secession ofEast Pakistanas a result of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971andPakistan War in Bangladesh.It was a major scientific effort of Pakistan. Project-706 refers specifically to the period from 1974–1983 when it was under the control of former prime ministerZulfikar Ali Bhutto, and later on under the military administration of Major-GeneralZahid Ali Akbar Khan of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers. The project's roots lay in scientists' fears since 1967 that India was also developing nuclear weapons of its own. Developing nuclear technology for Pakistan was a main goal and of Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who initiated the scientific research in 1972. Before the launching of Project-706 in 1974, the initial scientific research, starting from 1972, was directed and organized by renowned Pakistani scientist Abdus Salam. From 1974, the research was led by engineers Munir Ahmad Khan of PAEC and Abdul Qadeer Khan of KRL. Time magazine has called Project-706 Pakistan's equivalent of the United States Manhattan Project. The project initially cost US$450 million (raised by both Libya and Saudi Arabia) which was approved by Bhutto in 1972. Project-706 led to the creation of multiple production and research sites that operated in extreme secrecy and ambiguity. Apart from research and development the project was also charged with gathering intelligence on Indian nuclear efforts. The Project was disbanded when Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) carried out the first cold test of a miniature nuclear device on 11 March 1983. Scientists and Military officers who participated in the Project were given higher promotion in their respective services, and conferred with high civil decorations by the Government of Pakistan.