<P> As of 2017, nuclear power in Pakistan is provided by 5 commercial nuclear power plants . Pakistan is the first Muslim country in the world to construct and operate civil nuclear power plants . The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), the scientific and nuclear governmental agency, is solely responsible for operating these power plants . As of 2012, the electricity generated by commercial nuclear power plants constitutes roughly ~ 3.6% of electricity generated in Pakistan, compared to ~ 62% from fossil fuel, ~ 33% from hydroelectric power and ~ 0.3% from coal electricity . Pakistan is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency . Pakistan plans on constructing 32 nuclear power plants by 2050 . </P> <P> Professor (and later Nobel laureate) Abdus Salam, as Science Advisor to the President, persuaded President Ayub Khan, to establish Pakistan's first commercial nuclear power reactor, near Karachi . Known as Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP), the commercial power plant is a small 137 MWe CANDU reactor, a Canadian pressurized heavy water reactor . </P> <P> PAEC's Parvez Butt, a nuclear engineer, was project - director . The KANUPP began its operations in 1972, and it was inaugurated by President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Munir Ahmad Khan as PAEC chairman . The KANUPP which is under international safeguards is operated at reduced power . In 1969, France's Commissariat à l'énergie atomique and United Kingdom's British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) contracted with PAEC to provide plutonium and nuclear reprocessing plants in Pakistan . Per agreement, the PAEC engineers were the lead designers of the power plants and nuclear reprocessing facilities . While the BNFL and CEA provided the funds, technical assistance and nuclear materials . The work on projects did not start until 1972, and as a result of India's Operation Smiling Buddha--a surprise nuclear test in 1974--the BNFL cancelled the projects with PAEC . In 1974, PARR - II Reactor were commissioned, and its project directors were Munir Ahmad Khan and Hafeez Qureshi . The PARR - II is an indigenous reactor that was built under the auspices of PAEC's engineers and scientists . </P> <P> In 1977, due to pressure exerted by U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the CEA cancelled the projects with PAEC immediately . Without the assistance of United Kingdom and France, the PAEC engineers completed the plutonium nuclear reprocessing plant--New Labs--and the plutonium reactor--Khushab Nuclear Complex . Both power plants are commercial power plants control by PAEC . In 1989, People's Republic of China signed an agreement with Pakistan to provide 300 MWe CHASNUPP - I power plant under the IAEA safeguards . In 1990, both France and Soviet Union considered the Pakistan's request to provide the commercial nuclear power plants under the IAEA safeguards . But, after the American Ambassador to Pakistan's Robert Oakley expressed U.S. displeasure at the agreements between the Soviet Union and France, the contracts were cancelled . By the 2000, China had expanded its contract with PAEC and is currently assisting in construction of III, and IV power plants . II was completed in April 2011 . Due to its growing electricity demands, the Pakistan Government ordered PAEC to set up nuclear power plants in the country . According to PAEC, the goal is to produce 8800 MW electricity by the 2030 . Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani announced the Pakistan national energy policy in 2010 while the feasibility report was submitted in Prime Minister's Secretariat--the official residence of prime minister of Pakistan . The PAEC are currently planning to lead the construction of KANUPP - II nuclear power plant--a 1100 MWe power plant--and the KANUPP - III--1100 MWe . While the commercial plants will be indigenously built, the preliminary work is put on hold as of 2009 . In 2010, the Nuclear Power Fuel Complex (PNPFC)--a nuclear reprocessing power plant--was commissioned . PAEC led the construction, designing, and maintenance of the facility, while China and IAEA provided funds to the facility . On 26 November 2013 prime minister Nawaz Sharif performed groundbreaking ceremony for two nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of 2200 MW near Karachi . </P>

When did nuclear power project start in pakistan