巴基斯坦10年內可能成爲第三核武大國

Pakistan could have the third biggest arsenal of nuclear weapons, after the US and Russia, within a decade if it continues to produce up to 20 nuclear warheads annually, a report warns.

一份報告警告稱，如果巴基斯坦繼續每年製造多達20枚核彈頭的話，該國可能在10年內擁有全球第三大核武庫，僅次於美國和俄羅斯。

The report, by two US analysts and published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, concluded that Pakistan is outpacing India, with its neighbour and rival appearing to produce five warheads a year. Western diplomats, who keep close track of the countries’ nuclear capabilities, believe India has about 100 warheads, while Pakistan has about 120.

這份報告由兩名美國分析師撰寫，卡內基國際和平基金會(Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)發佈。報告總結稱，巴基斯坦的速度正超過競爭對手鄰國印度，印度似乎每年製造5枚核彈頭。密切追蹤這些國家核能力的西方外交人士認爲，印度擁有約100枚核彈頭，巴基斯坦擁有約120枚。

Asked to comment on the findings, a senior Pakistani government official said the “projections [in the report] for the future are highly exaggerated.

在被要求就這些數據置評時，巴基斯坦一政府高官表示，“（報告中的）未來預測高度誇張。”

“Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state, not a reckless one”.

“巴基斯坦是一個負責任的核國家，並非不計後果。”

The build-up of nuclear capacity is striking in the context of efforts to prevent neighbouring Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

在國際社會努力阻止巴基斯坦的鄰國伊朗發展核武器的背景下，巴基斯坦擴充核武的行動令人關注。

Pakistan became a nuclear power in 1998 when it carried out six nuclear tests, three weeks after India held a second series of its own nuclear trials. Neither country has signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

巴基斯坦在1998年成爲核國家，當時該國在印度進行第二輪核試驗的三週後，一口氣進行了6次核試驗。這兩個國家都尚未簽署核不擴散條約。

Western analysts have struggled for years to get an accurate assessment of the number of warheads possessed by each country, whose nuclear weapons programmes are surrounded by high levels of secrecy.

多年來，西方分析師一直難以準確評估這兩個國家擁有的核彈頭數量，兩國的核武器計劃都是高度保密的。