Khushab

Pakistani Cities
official_name = Khushab
خوشاب


emblem =
province = Punjab
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census_year = 1998
estimate_year = 2006
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code = 0454
towns =
uc = 41
nazim= Malik Ghulam Mohammad Tiwana
naib nazim
footnotes = The city government does not yet support e-Governance, although improvements have been suggested

Khushab (Urdu: خوشاب) is a of Khushab District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. [ [http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/admin_unit/admin_list_tehsil.html Tehsil statistics (Government of Pakistan, Statistics Division)] ] The city serves as the the headquarters of Khushab Tehsil an administrative subdivision of the district. [ [http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_election/union.asp?district=15&dn=Khushab Tehsils & Unions in the District of Khushab - Government of Pakistan] ]

The city of Khushab is home to the Heavy Water and Natural Uranium Research Reactor [ [http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/facility/khushab.htm Special Weapons Program of Pakistan (Federation of American Scientists)] ] , a critical part of the Pakistan's Special Weapons Program, which has come under much heated scrutiny. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/5212718.stm South Asia arms race - is it paranoia? (BBC News)] ]

History

During colonial rule Khushab town was the headquarters of the tehsil of the same name in the
Shahpur District of British Punjab. The town situated on the right bank of the Jhelum River was on the route of the Sindh-Sagar branch of the
North-Western Railway.

During that time it had an extensive trade, exporting cotton, wool, and ghi to Multan and Sukkur; cotton cloth to Afghanistan and the Derajat; and wheat grown in the Salt Range, which was considered particularly suitable for export, principally to Karachi. The municipality was created in 1867. The incomeduring the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 12,100, and theexpenditure Rs. 11,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 11,500, chiefly from octroi ; and the expenditure was Rs. 11,000. The town had an Anglo-vernacular middle school, maintained by the municipality, and a Government dispensary.

The population according to the 1901 census was 11,403. [ [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V15_304.gifKhushāb Town - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 298.] ]

Location

Khushab is located at 32°17'48N 72°21'9E and is situated between Sargodha and Mianwali, near the river Jhelum.

Controversies and debates

On March 21, 2000, the Christian Science Monitor published an article written by Alexander Colhoun, a high-resolution aerial satellite photo revealed a nuclear reactor and a missile base in the city of Khushab. These pictures had mixed views, one of the expression of power that could shackle or reshape diplomatic landscapes [ [http://www.oss.net/dynamaster/file_archive/040319/64a00635330d775e658f3a2d1901b24f/OSS2000-01-20.pdf Top-Secret Kodak Moment In Space Shakes Global Security, Christian Science Monitor (March 21, 2000)] ] of a region and another of the ethical question about the usage of satellite imagery in terms of privacy and national sovereignty of a nuclear-capable nation. The report was published at a time when American President Bill Clinton was due to visit India and sparked concerns worldwide. It was later clearly stated in the Dawn newspaper on June 14, 2000 that this particular nuclear reactor at Khushab and its reprocessing plant were generating between 8 to 10 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium per year, dedicated for military use.

References