The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority PNRA), is an administrative and an executive independent government authority of Pakistan Government initially mandate and tasked to overlook and ensure the safe operation of nuclear industry, its related atomic facilities, and to protect radiation employers, general public and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation by formulating and implementing effective regulations and building a relationship of trust with the licensees and maintain transparency in its actions and decisions.
Although, the concept of nuclear regulatory existed in 1965 but it gained full government commission in 2001, with the establishment Nuclear Command Authority. Headquartered in Islamabad, this agency was established in 2001 after President Justice (retired) Rafiq Tarar signed the executive decree "Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority Ordinance No.III" in 2000, and was first opened its operation in 2001.
The nuclear regulatory infrastructure has been in place since 1965, when the Pakistan Research Reactor was commissioned in 1965. Founded and established first by the Pakistani scientists, the nuclear regulatory regime was significantly improved when, in 1971, the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant was commissioned. Since then, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission had established the nuclear safety and licensing division at PAEC Headquarters, Islamabad as the de facto regulatory. The Nuclear Regulatory Authority was upgraded to Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection" (DNSRP) after the promulgation of Pakistan Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Ordinance 1984 by the Presidential Order.
In 1994, Pakistan signed the Convention on Nuclear Safety. As part of the convention, the Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection became part of the Government of Pakistan's federal agency. It was to establish an independent nuclear regulatory body entrusted with the implementation of the legislative and regulatory framework governing nuclear power and radiation use in the country, and further to separate the regulatory functions from the promotional aspects of the nuclear programme.
In 1995,(immediately after signing Nuclear Convention 1994) The Atomic Energy Agency (PAEC) had itself established the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Board (PNRB) within PAEC. PNRB was established to oversee the regulatory affairs. Complete separation of promotion and regulatory functions and responsibilities was achieved in 2001, when the President of Pakistan promulgated the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority Ordinance No.III of 2001. Consequently, Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) was created, dissolving the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Board and Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection.[3] The first chairman of PNRA was Jamshed Azim Hashmi who headed the authority till 2009. In 2009, the chairmanship was transferred to Anwar Habib.