Pakistan's Pathway to the Bomb

"Mansoor Ahmed has undertaken the most ambitious new approach to Pakistan's nuclear history in a decade. Through interviews with surviving participants and a trove of previously unseen documents, he shines a new light through the haze of heroic myths that have come to surround the subject. Ahmed shows convincingly that Pakistan's nuclear weapons program succeeded in spite of an atmosphere of intrigue and intense bureaucratic and interpersonal rivalries." — Joshua H. Pollack, senior research associate and editor, The Nonproliferation Review



"With great skill and new evidence, Mansoor Ahmed explores the complex history of Pakistan's nuclear project, including the roles of Munir Khan and A.Q. Khan. This is an important contribution to our understanding of Pakistani policy and of nuclear history more generally." — David J. Holloway, Raymond A. Spruance Professor of International History, emeritus, Stanford University

"Utilizing familial ties, access to primary source material, and interviews, Mansoor Ahmed has provided us with the most detailed, nuanced account we may ever have of Pakistan's nuclear programs." — Michael Krepon, cofounder, Stimson Center, and author of Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace: The Rise, Demise, and Revival of Arms Control

"Debunking myths and correcting common wisdom, Mansoor Ahmed's opus is a must read for anyone interested in the full story of Pakistan's development of nuclear weapons, particularly the people and the process involved. Drawing on unique sources and interviews, Ahmed brings new understanding to issues such as the interplay between the plutonium and enriched uranium routes to the bomb, A. Q. Khan's inflated role, and the ineffectiveness of imported North Korean Nodong missiles. I learned a lot." — Mark Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Americas Office, International Institute for Strategic Studies