The programme was suggested by Munir Ahmad Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), as early as 1977.
[1] The first subcritical testing was carried out in 1983 by PAEC, codenamed Kirana-I, and continued until the 1990s under the government of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto.
The Pakistan Government, under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, authorized the programme jointly under PAEC and KRL, assisted by the Corps of Engineers in 1998.
There were six nuclear tests performed under this programme, codenamed Chagai-I, and Chagai-II.
After the Prime Minister of India, Atal Vajpayee made a state visit to Pakistan to meet with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, both countries signed a nuclear testing control treaty, the Lahore Declaration in 1999.