Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is an independent federal agency of the Government of Pakistan, tasked and concerned with research and development of nuclear power, nuclear reactor production, energy security, and the energy conservation.

Established in 1956 to address the energy shortage in the country, the agency plays a pivotal role in harnessing the peaceful usage of the nuclear technology by advocating and building the nuclear power infrastructure to uplift the nation into economic prosperity. The PAEC sponsors and promotes the physical sciences research than any other Pakistan's federal agency, which is conducted through its research laboratories and development complexes. Since 1960, the PAEC is also been a major financial sponsor, supporter, and a research partner of the European CERN in Switzerland.

Until 2001, the PAEC was the civilian federal oversight agency that manifested the control of atomic radiation, research and development of the nuclear weapons, and eventually their testings. These functions were eventually taken over by two superseding federal agencies– Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) and the National Command Authority (NCA)– which allowed the agency to revert to its original civilian mission on peaceful usage of the nuclear technology.