AN international nuclear order, often characterized by treaties and geopolitical preferences, is commonly assessed in terms of membership in nuclear regimes. Pakistan’s civil nuclear experience provides a different rationale for this argument. At the heart of that experience is the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), an organization that demonstrates that through effective regulation, institutional independence and adherence to international safety standards—even without treaties—it is possible to achieve strong nuclear governance.
PNRA was founded as a separate civilian regulatory authority, with the Ordinance of PNRA enacted in 2001, to regulate and control all peaceful nuclear activities in Pakistan. It has a mandate covering nuclear safety and radiation protection, physical security, transportation of radioactive material, waste disposal and emergency preparedness. PNRA has developed a mature regulatory model regarding governance: it possesses a centralized authority, which is technical and not dependent on the will of the operator. This institutional autonomy is an important prerequisite for maintaining sound regulatory frameworks.
Pakistan has a nuclear program under the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), which is responsible for the production of electricity, research reactors and applications of nuclear energy in medicine and industry. However, the activities of PAEC are controlled by PNRA through licensing, inspection and regulation. This distinct division between regulator and operator—which is considered best practice globally according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—anchors nuclear governance in Pakistan within a framework of accountability. What makes PNRA stand out from an international perspective is not the extent of its jurisdiction but the robustness of its lifecycle regulation. PNRA oversees nuclear facilities from their siting and construction through operation, refueling, waste disposal and decommissioning—until a site is officially no longer under regulatory custody. KANUPP-1, the first nuclear power reactor in Pakistan, was closed in 2021 and subsequently entered the decommissioning phase under a license issued by PNRA in 2023. This reflects PNRA’s emphasis on the continuity of regulation even after a facility’s productive life.
PNRA licensing is not automatic or symbolic. Nuclear facilities must receive successive approvals at all levels: construction license, commissioning license, introduction of nuclear material license, operating license and decommissioning license. Even routine operational milestones, such as reactor criticality after refueling outages, must be explicitly approved by the regulations. This step-by-step, conservative approach reflects a precautionary culture of safety, which conforms to the standards set by the IAEA. PNRA is responsible for oversight not only of power reactors but also of research reactors, isotope production facilities, radioactive waste management installations and spent fuel dry storage facilities. It is also significant because it regulates the nuclear supply chain. Manufacturers of nuclear safety-class equipment, designers of safety-related structures and providers of specialized services all operate with PNRA authorization.
Another pillar of Pakistan’s regulatory regime is human capital. PNRA registers reactor operators as well as research reactor staff and operational competence is now a legal requirement rather than an institutional belief. No nuclear plant can operate without the necessary number of licensed staff. Emergency preparedness further enhances Pakistan’s regulatory credibility. PNRA engages in state-wide nuclear and radiological emergency exercises and develops plans in coordination with operators, emergency responders and other state institutions. These strategies, based on the IAEA emergency preparedness and response framework, reflect a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive risk control.
Non-membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is often cited by critics to define Pakistan’s nuclear story. This framing, however, overlooks a critical fact: Pakistan has civil nuclear installations that operate under item-specific IAEA security and its regulatory framework meets international standards of safety and security. In fact, the existence of PNRA reveals a long-standing imbalance in the international nuclear system, whereby access and legitimacy are unevenly distributed while performance is seldom acknowledged. Despite constraints imposed by export control regimes, Pakistan has maintained a regulatory environment capable of overseeing large-scale modern nuclear power generation projects—including Generation III facilities—as well as regulating research, medical and industrial nuclear technology.
PNRA offers a model with wider applicability, especially as nuclear energy is increasingly recognized in international energy security and climate action discourses. Pakistan’s nuclear experience demonstrates that effective regulation, institutional independence and international engagement can be achieved despite exclusion from export control regimes. For states where nuclear energy is still emerging, Pakistan’s regulatory experience provides an important lesson: credibility is established by functioning institutions, not empty rhetoric.
