A team of officials working with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission arrives at a busy intersection on the outskirts of town in the late afternoon sun, climbs up onto the "Monument for the Day of Victory" and starts an inspection.
The anniversary of this country's first nuclear test is Saturday, and everything must be in order. So, taking a rag from the cleaning crew, a senior official personally buffs the silver atom-and-laurel-branch logo on the monument, a five-meter-high replica of Mount Chagai, where the May 28, 1998, test took place.
Despite years of sanctions and international condemnation, the decision to go nuclear is seen by most Pakistanis today as a good one -- and, experts say, their example may offer some insights into the often murky motivations of another country following a similar path, North Korea.
Though long suspected of possessing nuclear weapons, the isolated communist nation is reportedly now taking steps that could signal it is planning a nuclear test as early as next month.
If it does -- and that remains a big if -- it will be the first nation since Pakistan to officially join the nuclear club.
"The South Asian example is clearly the one that leaps out to us today as we look back to see what dynamics were at play for those countries that went ahead and developed nuclear weapons despite international sanctions," said Sheila Smith, an analyst with the East-West Center, an education and research center in Honolulu.
For both Pakistan and North Korea, there are two main motivations for going nuclear -- national defense and national pride.
"It makes me feel good, feel proud," Mohammed Alam, a gardener, said as he passed by the monument on his bicycle. "No one has the right to criticize what we do to defend ourselves. Any country should be free to defend itself."
Mount Chagai replicas can be found in several major cities in Pakistan, most erected a year after the 1998 test was conducted.
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