Abdul Qadeer Khan
Encyclopedia
Abdul Qadeer Khan also known in Pakistan
as Mohsin-e-Pakistan (in Urdu: محسن پاکِستان; lit: Savior of Pakistan), D.Eng
, Sc.D
, HI
, NI
(twice), FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q. Khan, is a Pakistani nuclear scientist and a metallurgical engineer who served as the Director-General
of the Kahuta Research Laboratories
(KRL) from 1976 until 2001. Abdul Qadeer Khan is widely regarded as the founder of HEU based Gas-centrifuge
uranium enrichment programme for Pakistan's nuclear deterrence development
.
Abdul Qadeer Khan was one of Pakistan's top scientists, and was involved in the country's various scientific programmes until his debriefing. On January 2004, Khan was officially summoned for a debriefing
on his suspicious activities
in other countries after the United States
provided evidences to the Pakistan Government, and confessed it a month later. However, these activities turned out to be ordered and supervised by government of Pakistan and the military. After years of debriefing, the Islamabad High Court
(IHC) on 6 February 2009 declared Abdul Qadeer Khan to be a free citizen of Pakistan, allowing him free movement inside the country. The verdict was rendered by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Aslam
. In September 2009, expressing concerns over the Islamabad High Court
’s decision to end all security restrictions on Khan, the United States
warned that Khan still remains a "serious proliferation risk".
family in the Bhopal State of India
(then part of the British Indian Empire). His father Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Khan was an academic who served in the Education Ministry of the British Indian Government and after retirement in 1935, settled permanently in Bhopal State. In 1947, after the partition
, the family migrated from India to Pakistan, and settled in West-Pakistan
. Khan studied in Saint Anthony's High School
of Lahore, and then enrolled at the D.J. Science College
of Karachi. There, he took B.Sc.
in Physics
and B.A.
in Mathematics
under the supervision of Suparco
physicist Dr. Bashir Syed
. In 1956, he attended Karachi University and obtained a B.S.
degree in Metallurgy
in 1960. To support the fees of his education, Khan was employed at Siemens Engineering where he worked as a practical trainee (junior engineer).
After graduation, he was employed by the Karachi Metropolitan Government and worked as an Inspector
of weight and measures in Karachi
, Pakistan. In 1961, he went to West Germany
to study Metallurgical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin. In 1967, Khan obtained an engineer's degree
(in Technology
), an equivalent of Master of Science
, from Delft University of Technology
in the Netherlands
, and a Doctor of Engineering
degree in Metallurgical engineering under the supervision of Martin Brabers from the Catholic University of Leuven
, Belgium
, in 1972. Khan's doctoral dissertations were written in fluent German
. His doctoral thesis dealt and contained the fundamental work in Martensite
, and its extended industrial applications to the field of Morphology
, a field that studies the shape, size, texture and phase distribution of physical objects
, Khan through a former university classmate, Friedrich Tinner
, and a recommendation from his old professor and mentor, Martin J. Brabers, joined the senior staff of the Physics Dynamics Research Laboratory (FDO) in Amsterdam
. At first, he was responsible for evaluating High-strength metals to be used for centrifuge components
. The FDO was a subcontractor for URENCO Group
, the uranium enrichment research facility at Almelo
, Netherlands, which had been established in 1970 by the United Kingdom
, West Germany
, and the Netherlands
to assure a supply of enriched uranium
for European
nuclear reactors. According to Khan's deputy, Dr. Ghulam Dastigar Alam, Khan was very fluent in German, French
and English
, and the FDO administration gave him a drawing of a centrifuge machine for translation. However, Khan later joined the URENCO Group after Urenco offered him a prestigious job. Khan was responsible for performing experiments on uranium metallurgy
and was tasked to produce commercial-grade uranium usable for light water reactors. In the meantime, the URENCO Group gave drawings of centrifuges for the solution of engineering problems that Urenco's engineers were facing. The Urenco facility used Zippe-type centrifuge
technology to separate the fissile isotope
s 235U
from non-fissile 238U
by spinning UF6
gas at up to 100,000Rpm
. Abdul Qadeer Khan's academic and leading-edge research in metallurgy brought great laurels to Urenco Group. In a short span of time, Khan earned a great reputation there, and enjoyed a distinguished career at Urenco. One of his greatest achievements was to enhance and improve the efficiency of the gas-centrifuges, which he did all alone. URENCO enjoyed a great academic relationship with Dr. Khan, and Urenco had Khan as one of the most senior scientists at the research facility where he worked and researched. URENCO granted Khan access to the most restricted areas of its facility as well as to the most restricted and highly classified documentation on gas centrifuge technology. During this time, Urenco had granted this privilege to few of the senior academic scientists who were working in the highly secretive and classified research projects.
Uranium enrichment is an extremely difficult process, as 235U
exists in natural uranium at a concentration of only 0.7%; for the purposes of most power-generation reactors the concentration of that isotope has to be increased about fivefold, to at least 3%. The trick is to isolate and shed a similar isotope known as 238U
which is barely 1% heavier. By spinning at very high speeds—electrically driven to 100,000 Rpm, in perfect balance, on superb bearings, in a vacuum, linked by pipes to thousands of other units doing the same—this is what the centrifuge achieves. Much of the technical details of these centrifuge systems are regulated as secret information and subject to export controls because they could be used for the purposes of proliferation
, and useful to make weapon-grade fuel for weapon making purposes. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was responsible for improving the efficiency of the centrifuges used by Urenco, and greatly contributed to the technological advancement of the Zippe technology, a technology that was developed by Gernot Zippe
, a mechanical engineer, in the Soviet Union during the 1940s
.
, the then Chief Martial Law Administrator
, chaired a secret meeting of academic scientists at Multan
. This was known as the Multan meeting. Formal research was launched under the administrative control of Bhutto, and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
(or PAEC) under its chairman, Munir Ahmad Khan
, was exploring the Plutonium route, at first, to developing an atomic device. In 1974, Indian Premier
Indira Gandhi
gave verbal authorization to the scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(BARC) to conduct a test of a device that they had built, and the preparation was completed under extreme secrecy. On May 18, 1974, India conducted a surprise nuclear test, codenamed Operation Smiling Buddha
, near the Pakistan's eastern border. The test was conducted at the long-constructed Indian Army
base, known as Pokhran Test Range (PTR). It was only three years since Pakistan's humiliating defeat in the 1971 Indo-Pak Winter war
and the Winter war had put Pakistan's mortal existence in great danger. This nuclear test, Operation Smiling Buddha, greatly alarmed the Government of Pakistan
. In Pakistan, this test was greatly sensed and saw as last anticipation of Pakistan's death. Prime minister
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
quickly scrambled to establish a sustainable nuclear weapons capability in the shortest time possible. Sensing the importance of this test, Munir Ahmad Khan secretly launched the Project-706
, a secret uranium enrichment programme, under its first technical director Sültan Bashiruddin Mahmood
.
During this time, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was working in a weapon-grade centrifuge production facility in the Netherlands
as senior scientist. As he learned the news, Dr. Abdül Qadeer Khan went to the Pakistan Embassy in Amsterdam
and approached Pakistan
government officials
where he offered to help Pakistan’s nuclear deterrence program. At first, he approached a pair of Pakistan military scientists who were in the Netherlands on business. At the Pakistan Embassy, the military scientists discouraged him by saying: "As a metallurgical engineer, it would be a hard job for him to find a job in PAEC (Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
)".
Undaunted, Abdul Qadeer Khan wrote to Prime minister
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
, saying, "he [Abdul Qadeer Khan] sets out his experience and encourages Prime Minister Bhutto to make an atomic bomb using uranium, rather than plutonium, the method Pakistan is currently trying to adopt under the leadership of Munir Ahmad Khan
". As letter was received by Prime minister Secretariat, because Khan, at that time was unknown to the Government, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto asked the ISI to run a complete background check on Khan and prepare an assessment report on Khan. The ISI submitted its report and recommending Khan as an incompetent scientist in the field of nuclear technology based on his academic discipline. However, Bhutto was unsatisfied with ISIs report and was eager to known more about Khan, therefore Bhutto asked Munir Ahmad Khan to dispatch a team of PAEC's scientists to meet Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. Munir Ahmad Khan chose Sültan Bashiruddin Mahmood as head of the team and the team met with Dr. Khan at night and the discussion was held until the next day. After the meeting, the team returned to Pakistan and Bhutto decided to meet Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan immediately. A letter was directed, and Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan took a leave from Urenco Group.
, and dr. Mübascher Hassan
, Bhutto's Science Adviser. During the meeting, dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan enlightened the importance to Uranium-based device, but was unable to convince Bhutto to adopt uranium as the best approach rather than plutonium to make an atomic device. As Munir Ahmad Khan
was a plutonium technologist and an expert in nuclear fuel cycle, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not agree to halt the plutonium efforts but moved to begin a parallel uranium program. After dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan took off from the Prime minister Secretariat, Zulfikar Bhutto quietly told with his close friends Munir Ahmad Khan
and Mübascher Hassan that, "He [Abdul Qadeer Khan] seems to make sense."
Next day early morning, another meeting was held where dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan persuaded again to Bhutto and tried to convince him to halt the plutonium pursuit. In a meeting with Bhutto, Munir Ahmad Khan
and senior academic scientists and engineers at PAEC believed that they could run the reactor without Canadian assistance, and they insisted that with the French extraction plant in the offing, Pakistan should stick with its original plan. Bhutto did not disagree, but saw the advantage of mounting a parallel effort toward enriched uranium
.
Before Abdul Qadeer Khan's joining, the uranium route was considered secondary, and most efforts were put to develop a device with weapon-grade plutonium. In spring of 1976, Abdul Qadeer Khan joined the programme, and worked initially under Sultan Mahmood. However, after Mahmood briefed Khan on the project, the pair disagreed, and Abdul Qadeer Khan became highly unsatisfied with the work led by Mahmood. He wrote a letter to Munir Ahmad Khan, later directed to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, where he expressed his discontent with Mahmood and saying that he wanted to work independently.
chose Brigadier
Zahid Ali Akbar
, a system engineer notable for leading the construction of GHQ, Pakistan Army's Combatant Headquarter. Brigadier Zahid Ali Akbar chose the city of Kahuta
near Rawalpindi
, Punjab Province, for the operational enrichment facility. Kahuta, at that time, was a remote and dangerous mountainous area. And, because the experiments were too dangerous to perform in public area, Brigadier Zahid chose Kahuta as best place to perform the dangerous experiments where public life was no where to be found. With promotion awarded by Bhutto, Zahid Ali Akbar
was made Major-General, and served as the first Director of the Project-706. Major-General Akbar designed the entire city of Kahuta and as well the enrichment plant, facility and the research institute near by. During 1970s, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan worked at Engineering Research Laboratories as senior scientist and was responsible for established the laboratories and the enrichment chambers there. Major-General Akbar's office was shifted at the General's Headquarter (GHQ) and in his capacity, dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan served as intern director of the Engineering Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL). In 1980, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was officially made Director-General of the ERL, and he would later on served his role as more businessman than the scientist. In 1983, Pakistan's Chief Martial Law Administrator
and Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq subsequently renamed it from Engineering Research Laboratories to Khan Research Laboratories
(KRL). At first the facility suffered many sat back, but after PAEC sent its scientists to ERL for a time being, the enrichment programme became fully functioned by the early 1981.
remained in charge of all the other critical steps of the nuclear fuel cycle, starting from uranium exploration, processing, conversion, fuel fabrication and reprocessing- both in the pre and post enrichment phases as well as the plutonium, nuclear weapons and civil and military reactors programs. From the beginning, Abdul Qadeer Khan was not involved in the designing of the nuclear weapons and including its calculations and such details were never provided to him by the government. Unlike other scientists who were generally allowed to visit country's most classified research institute, Khan was not allowed to visit many of secret and classified sites, such as The New Laboratories where the weapon-grade plutonium and weapon designing took place. As oppose to others, Khan needed government clarifications and special permissions were required by Khan in order to visit such sites where he never visited alone and at least senior active duty officers would accompanied him.
Hence, Khan was kept in dark and was not informed by his colleagues or the government officials if cold tests were taking place in under extreme secrecy. Khan was also not invited, nor any one provided him the details, to the secret cold-test
of a nuclear device, codename Kirana-I that was conducted in March 1983 by the PAEC under Munir Ahmad Khan
. In 1984, Abdul Qadeer Khan's KRL claimed to carry out its own nuclear cold test of a weapon. However, this seemed unsuccessful as PAEC had already carried out the test in 1983, and would carry out 24 more cold tests of different nuclear weapon designs. In 1984, KRL had produces the first and fresh batch of weapon-grade uranium loosely based on the Zippe Type technology.
Abdul Qadeer Khan's Kahuta Research laboratories (KRL) was initially singly focused on enrichment of natural uranium into weapon-grade uranium. Despite of international media's reporting, neither the KRL nor Abdul Qadeer Khan, was mandated to participate or/ involved with other phases of the nuclear weapon research development, including the actual weapon designing, development and testing of weapons, which remained under PAEC. Nor was it involved in upstream activities such as uranium exploration, mining, refining and the production of Urania as well as the conversion of yellow cake into 6UF, the gaseous feedstock for the enrichment. Nor was it responsible for contributing in nuclear energy programme or the reprocessing programme, which also remained under PAEC.
of Munir Ahmad Khan's work. Abdul Qadeer Khan, on many different occasions, unsuccessfully tried to remove Munir Ahmad Khan's role in the nuclear weapons research programme. In spite of that, Munir Ahmad Khan and the PAEC provided its full support to Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan's work. The Atlantic Monthly described the two as mortal enemies.
In the early 1980s, KRL also sought to develop nuclear weapons and claimed to have carried out at least one cold test in 1983. This appears to have been unsuccessful. PAEC had carried out the first cold test on 11 March 1983, and in the following years conducted 24 cold tests of different weapons designs. Khan used his influenced in the government to took over the projects from PAEC and one of the notable case was in 1980, when Khan took over the Laser range-finder
project which was awarded to fellow scientist dr. Shaukat Hameed Khan
from PAEC. In the meantime, the KRL launched other competing weapons development projects, such as the nuclear-capable and liquid-fueled Ghauri-I programme
. In early 1995, the PAEC developed the solid fuel
ed Shaheen-I Systems. According to its scientists, the PAEC's Shaheen missile programme was highly ambitious and ingenious. Dr. Samar Mubarakmand
was the lead designer of the Shaheen missile programme.
In 1980s, KRL produced both weapons and reactor grade uranium to level the competition with PAEC. However, while PAEC developed its the programme indigenously under Munir Ahmad Khan, Ishfaq Ahmad and Samar Mubarakmand, Abdul Qadeer Khan's team anticipated and richly contributed to the country's first Battlefield Range Ballistic Missile
(BRBM), the Hatf missile system, collaborating with the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
(SUPARCO).
conduct a series of tests of its nuclear bombs, codename Pokhran-II
, in 1998 in long-constructed Indian Army
Pokhran Test Range
. These nuclear tests conducted by India caused great alarm and internal tension in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif
, Prime minister
at that time, came under intense media and public pressure to conduct its own nuclear tests. After the Indian nuclear weapons tests, Abdul Qadeer Khan repeatedly met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, trying for permission to test Pakistan's nuclear weapons in Chagai. He proposed the idea that the tests could by carried out in the underground tunnels in Kahuta. But it was denied by the government as well as the Pakistan Defence Forces as too aggressive towards India and raging a war against India. Despite his efforts, Sharif instead chose PAEC, under Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad
, due to their experience of ingeniously carrying out the tests in the past.
When the news reached to the him that PAEC has been tasked with the testings, furious Khan was badly upset and frustrated with the Prime minister. Without wasting a minute, Khan reached to Pakistan Army's Combatant General's Headquarter (GHQ) where he met with General Jehängeer Cäramatt, Chief of Army Staff, where he lodged a strong protest and grievousness to the Chief of Army Staff. General Cäramatt then called the Prime minister Secretariat, and Prime minister decided that KRL scientists, including Dr. A.Q. Khan, would also be involved in the nuclear test preparations and present at the time of testing alongside those of the PAEC. In meantime, Scharief sought to mitigate the intense rivalry between PAEC and KRL by asking Khan to provide its enriched uranium to PAEC. Prime minister Scharief also urged both KRL and PAEC to work together in the nation's best interest. It was the KRL's HEU that ultimately led to the successful detonation of Pakistan's first nuclear devices on 28 May 1998, under codename Chagai-I
. Two days later, on 30 May, a small team of scientists belonging to PAEC, under the leadership of Dr. Samar Mubarakmand
, a plutonium nuclear device, codename Chagai-II. According to Pakistan defense analyst and retired engineer officer Lieutenant-General Talat Masood, the weapon-grade device was much more powerful than the uranium device. The yield
of the device was reported to 12-20 Kt
. However, in an interview with Dr. Shahid Masood
of ARY Television Network
, Abdul Qadeer Khan said that even the second nuclear test was also based on Uranium-fissile fuel, though he did not provide any evidence to his claim despite the anchor urged to provide the claims.
In an interview and the thesis written in his book, Khan maintained that eye-witnessing the nuclear tests, and becoming of Pakistan as nuclear power, was his most happiest, finest, and glorified days of his life.
and Peter Finke
, established a company to transfer Urenco technology to Pakistan, Libya, and Iran. However, the cover was blown by British
MI-6, and Finke, along with unnamed ISI officer, defected to Pakistan while Tinner escaped to Libya.
On an interview given by Dr. G.D. Alam — a theoretical physicist who headed the enrichment programme, alongside with Abdul Qadeer Khan — made a confession acknowledging A.Q. Khan's nuclear proliferation work. According to Dr. Ghulam Dastigar Alam, the URENCO Group had given Abdul Qadeer Khan the drawings of centrifuges for translation, and to find out the errors in the centrifuges designs that URENCO engineers were facing. Abdul Qadeer Khan brought those drawings (blue prints) to Pakistan without notifying the URENCO Group and the Dutch government. Abdul Qadeer Khan's stolen drawings of centrifuge machine were incomplete and incorrect. Academic scientists, such as Dr. Tasnim Shah
, Dr. G.D. Alam, Dr. Qadir Hussain
, Dr. Anwar Ali
, had developed new and powerful version of the centrifugal machine, and Abdul Qadeer Khan had nothing to do with it. Even though it was Abdul Qadeer Khan's tasked to figure out the problems as URENCO Group had trusted him for the solution of the problems. As the problems were fixed, Abdul Qadeer Khan began the enrichment operations in KRL and a milestone was reached in 1978 with the enrichment project. In 1981, Dr. G.D. Alam and other academic scientists were transferred back to PAEC as they had developed serious disagreements with Abdul Qadeer Khan over his nuclear proliferation activities.
In 1980, a foreign government from an unknown Arab country contacted Dr. A.Q. Khan. Khan began his nuclear proliferation network and tried to include other scientists in his scheme, including Alam. The scientists had declined to cooperate with Khan. Abdul Qadeer Khan then decided to begin his independent operations in other countries. In his statement, Ghulam Dastigar Alam disclosed that: To this day, Dr. A.Q. Khan knows nothing about nuclear science
apart from the basics. He still lacks the knowledge to speak about technical issues involved in the development of nuclear technology.
In 2004, Samar Mubarakmand
— a nuclear physicist who supervised the Chagai tests — provided further details about A.Q. Khan's proliferation network in an interview with Hamid Mir
's Capital Talk
. Mubarakmand acknowledged that the PAEC in IAEA first became aware of A.Q. Khan's network in 1980s, as PAEC was also a part of Libya and Iraq weapon's inspections. When the Pakistani Government confronted Abdul Qadeer Khan, he simply denied the accusations. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan first visited Chagai on May 28. He arrived 15 minutes prior to the tests, Mubarakmand concluded. He ended his interview by saying: It was PAEC, especially the Theoretical Physics Group (TPG), that designed and developed the weapons as well as the programme. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was only tasked with the enrichment project that he had taken over in 1976. If he knew how to build the designs of weapons, Iraq, Libya and Iran would have developed the weapons by now, Mubarakmand concluded.
S.M. Zafar
, at his own expense, immediately traveled to Amsterdam to fight the case of Khan and filed a petition in an Amsterdam court. Zafar, teamed with Khan's old mentor professor Martin Brabers and his universities administration, where Zafar prepared for the case. At the trial, Zafar and Martin argued that the technical informations stole by Khan are commonly found and taught in graduate and doctoral courses at the university, therefore the evidences are not strong enough to jailed Khan. After series of hearing, the sentence was later overturned on appeal on a legal technicality
by Amsterdam Court. Khan, with Barrister Zafar, returned to Pakistan and explicitly gave interviews to Pakistan's mass media.
Khan rejected any suggestion that Pakistan had illicitly acquired nuclear expertise: "All the research work [at Kahuta] was the result of our innovation and struggle," he said in 1990. "We did not receive any technical know-how from abroad, but we cannot reject the use of books, magazines, and research papers in this connection."
In October 1990, KRL's activities led the U.S. to terminate economic and military aid to Pakistan, which led to a freeze in Pakistan's nuclear weapons development program. But in July 1996 Khan said, "at no stage was the program of producing nuclear weapons-grade enriched uranium ever stopped".
negotiated with Pakistan for the sale of HEU fuel. During this time, General Zia-ul-Haq contracted with the Chinese regime to sell HEU fuel in exchange for (UF6)
. Dr. A.Q. Khan, along with the Pakistan Navy
's Vice-Admiral, visited China to provide technical support to the Chinese nuclear weapons program. The KRL also aided China in building the centrifuge facility in Hanzhong province
, roughly built in the same style as the original design of KRL. When it was reported, Chinese regime offered back the HEU fuel, but Pakistan refused, calling it a gift of gesture to China. However, after Khan was convicted in Amsterdam and later returned to country in 1986, he stopped his activities as General Zia-ul-Haq had formed a military unit to monitor Khan. Khan restarted his activities after the assassination of General Zia-ul-Haq in an aircraft crash.
Pakistan is one of few countries to have diplomatic relations with North Korea
, first established during the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's regime, a socialist democratic regime in Pakistan. In 1990, it was reported that the highly sensitive centrifuge technology was being exported to North Korea in exchange for missile technologies. Khan, along with Benazir Bhutto, paid a state visit to North Korea and downloaded secret information on uranium enrichment to give to North Korea in exchange for information on developing ballistic missiles. Khan again paid visit to North Korea with a senior army general to buy shoulder-launched missiles.
After General's death, Abdul Qadeer Khan tried to remove Munir Ahmad Khan as Chairman of PAEC as he wanted to became Chairman instead. However, because PAEC is an influential member of International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) and regular participating member of European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan
and Prime minister Benazir Bhutto denied Abdul Qadeer Khan's request. Khan then restarted his nuclear network, beginning with Iran. It emerged in August 2003, that Dr. Khan had offered to sell sensitive designs of centrifuge technology to Iran as early as 1989. Following the revelation, the Iranian government came under intense pressure from United States
and the European Union to fully disclose its nuclear program
. In October 2003, Iran finally agreed to accept tougher inspections from the IAEA. The IAEA reported that Iran had established a large uranium enrichment facility using gas centrifuges based on the URENCO designs, which had been obtained "from a foreign intermediary in 1989". The intermediary was not named but many diplomats and analysts pointed to Khan, who was said to have visited Iran in 1989. The Iranians turned over the names of their suppliers and the international inspectors quickly identified the Iranian gas centrifuges as Pak-1s, the model that Khan developed in the early 1980s. In December 2003, two senior staff members at Khan Labs were arrested on suspicion of having sold centrifuge technology to the Iranians.
magazine alleged that Khan had sent designs of centrifuges to Iraq
, an allegation that he denied.United Nations
arms inspectors apparently discovered documents discussing Khan's purported offer in Iraq; Iraqi officials said the documents were authentic but that they had not agreed to work with Khan, fearing a sting operation. During this time, Iraq and Pakistan had strained relations
, and Iraq feared that an ISI sting operation might take place. During this time, Pakistan, through ISI, passed solid evidence to Mossad
, whose [Pakistan] scientists had helped in building the nuclear program in Libya. Also, Iraq had received a large amount of chemical stockpile from Dr. Carlos Cardoen, another weapon scientist and metallurgical engineer.
In 2003, the U.S.
and IAEA successfully dismantled the Libyan nuclear programme
and convinced Libya to give up its nuclear weapons-related material, including the centrifuges that were acquired from Khan's nuclear "black market". Libyans turn over the names of its suppliers and A.Q. Khan was one of them.
The Bush administration investigated the centrifuge's nuclear proliferation in 2001 and 2002, focusing on Khan's personal role. In December 2002 it renewed its allegation that an unidentified agent, supposedly acting on Khan's behalf, had offered centrifuge expertise to Iraq in the mid-1990s. Khan strongly denied this allegation and the Pakistan Government declared the evidence to be "fraudulent". The United States had responded by imposing sanctions on KRL in the 1990s. However, after Pakistan's contribution
against terrorism and as a key ally of United States in the War on Terror
, the United States had removed the ban on KRL and technological cooperation between the United States and Pakistan.
former Prime minister Navaz Sharif, in a successful coup d'état. In 2000, General Musharraf established the Nuclear Command Authority and brought down all of the nuclear research institutions under one chain of Command. In 2001, Khan was given retirement from KRL as Director-General, and General Musharraf appointed Khan to a prestigious post, the Science Adviser. While this was regarded as a promotion, it removed him from hands-on management and allowed the government to keep a closer eye on his activities. In 2002, the United States
began to provide evidence to the Pakistani Government on Khan's nuclear network. The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed "senior Pakistani Government officials" as conceding that Khan's dismissal from KRL had been prompted by the U.S. government's suspicions. On January 31, 2004, Khan was dismissed from his post and Pakistan Government launched full-fledged investigations on Khan to ostensibly "allow a fair investigation" of the allegations.
, led by Rear-Admiral Ehsan Christi. In the early morning of 25 January 2004, Khan officially reported to JAG Branch's debriefing and the JAG Branch officers reported that Khan and Mohammed Farooq, a high-ranking manager at KRL, had provided unauthorized technical assistance to Iran in the late 1980s and early 1990s, allegedly in exchange for tens of millions of dollars. The Pakistan Army
's former Chief of Army Staff General Mirza Aslam Beg was also implicated. The Wall Street Journal quoted U.S. government officials as saying that Khan had told the investigators that General Beg had authorized the transfers to Iran.
In December 2003, Libya
announced that it had agreed to abandon its undisclosed nuclear program. Libyan government officials were quoted as saying that Libya had bought nuclear components from various black market dealers, including Pakistan's. U.S. officials who visited the Libyan uranium enrichment plants reported that the gas centrifuges used there were very similar to the Iranian machines. The IAEA officials also visited the Libyan nuclear plant where they found models of Paksat-1. Interpol
arrested three Swiss nuclear scientists
who were Khan's close associates.
aircraft, secured by heavily armed No. 11 Squadron Arrows when taking a flight with Khan. Often, he was accompanied by senior members of Pakistan's nuclear establishment, both civil and military members. Due to Khan's importance, Khan never traveled in commercial jets but Khan was given a PAF
's Boeing 707
, which was usually flown by either highly professionally air force or naval fighter pilots. Khan was often protect by members of Joint Intelligence Technical (JIT) where clearance of visitors were often required.
The full scope of the Khan network is not fully known and remains classified. Centrifuge components were apparently manufactured in Malaysia
with the aid of South Asian and German middlemen, and used a Dubai
computer company as a false front. In Malaysia, Khan was helped by Sri Lanka
-born Buhary Sayed Abu Tahir, who shuttled between Kuala Lumpur
and Dubai to arrange for the manufacture of centrifuge components by a Malaysian company
. Khan Research Laboratories
is said to have entered into an agreement with Malaysian businessman Shah Hakim Zain
to export conventional weapons to Malaysia.
The Khan investigation also revealed how many European companies were defying export restrictions and aiding the Khan network. Dutch companies exported thousands of centrifuges to Pakistan as early as 1976, and a German company exported facilities for the production of tritium
(for hydrogen bombs) to the country.
The investigation exposed Israeli businessman turned engineer Asher Karni
as having sold component of centrifugal devices to Khan's associates and its roots were also found in aiding Israeli nuclear program as well. Karni was the source providing electronic materials to Israeli nuclear programme to Pakistan's nuclear development. Tahir was arrested in Malaysia in May 2004 under a Malaysian law allowing for the detention of individuals posing a security threat.
In September 2005, Musharraf revealed that after two years of questioning Khan — which the Pakistan government insisted on doing itself without outside intervention — that they had confirmed that Khan had supplied centrifuge parts to North Korea.
(PTV) and confessed to running a proliferation ring where his confession was on-aired by Pakistan's state and private television stations all over the country.
pressure. Therefore, Khan was remained kept under continuous debriefings.
The debriefing of Khan became one of the most high-profile and highlighted news in Pakistan, with Pakistan media
aired talk shows and documentaries to sympathize with Khan. The Islamist front
and conservative parties
came in support for Khan where they held demonstration throughout the country. General Musharraf's long standing ally, the MQM
, the Urdu-speaking
and largest liberal-secular party, publicly came in support for Khan. Abdul Qadeer Khan, an ethnic muhajir
from India, received a tremendous amount of political and moral support from MQM as its parliamentarians gathering support for Khan. MQM threatened General Musharraf to leave the government if Khan's case is mistreated or even jailed in infamous Adiala Jail. The recent development in Pakistan got United States worried as the American Ambassador to Pakistan
Ryan Crocker sent an observed report on Khan's reaction in Pakistan. The United States feared a political turmoil, roughly equivalent to Iranian Revolution
, and loss of General Musharraf as an ally in War against terrorism. Therefore, the United States imposed no sanctions
following the confession and pardon. The U.S. officials said that in the War on Terrorism
, it was not their goal to denounce or imprison people but "to get results." Sanctions on Pakistan or demands for an independent investigation of the Pakistan Armed Forces might have led to restrictions on or the loss of use of Pakistan Armed Forces bases needed by United States and NATO troops in Afghanistan. "It's just another case where you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar," a U.S. government official explained.
The U.S. also refrained from applying further direct pressure on Pakistan to disclose more about Khan's activities due to a strategic calculation that such pressure might topple President Musharraf. In a speech to the National Defense University
on 11 February 2004, President Bush proposed to reform the IAEA: "No state, under investigation for proliferation violations, should be allowed to serve on the IAEA Board of Governors—or on the new special committee. And any state currently on the Board that comes under investigation should be suspended from the Board. The integrity and mission of the IAEA depends on this simple principle: Those actively breaking the rules should not be entrusted with enforcing the rules." The Bush proposal was seen as targeted against Pakistan which, then served on the Board of Governors. It has not received attention from other governments.
A notorious image in West, Abdul Qadeer Khan remained extremely popular in Pakistan and saw as national hero of Pakistan. Science in Pakistan served as Pakistan's extreme national pride, and Khan's long association with science bought Khan a tremendous popularity. Khan's downfall affected the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf, as he was called the "Pro-American Leader". Freelance people in Pakistan openly blamed the United States
for Khan's house arrest
. Journalists and the mainstream media came to support Khan and expressed their sympathies to him.
Opposition parties in Pakistan as well as coalition parties supported Khan. The MQM provided its tremendous political and moral support to Khan and calling Khan as its own blood. Its senior leader and parliamentarians, most notably dr. Färouq Sätar
and Babar Ghaüri
continued Khan's support from the beginning as they influenced the government to release Khan at a shortest time possible. Former Minister for Religious Affairs
Ejaz-ul-Haq
held a public press conference in May 2007 to express his support for Khan. Aseff Ahmad Ali, Education minister, also supported Abdul Qadeer Khan where Khan remained highly popular in ruling Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP).
became the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army in 2007. In a meeting held by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Secretariat
, senior joint military leaders and officers unanimously voted for the termination of Khan's debriefings. Prompting, General Tärikue Majid, then-newly appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, officially terminated the military debriefings of Khan on August 14, 2008. Khan was never charged with espionage activities nor were criminal charges pressed against Khan. The debriefings were only taken place to learn and dismantle Khan's network, which it did successfully. However, the debriefings were ended quickly and wrapped up quietly following the fall of Military regime
of General Pervez Musharraf. However, the details of such knowledge remain classified and hidden. A complicating factor is that few believe that Khan acted alone and the affair risks gravely damaging the Armed Forces, which oversaw and controlled the nuclear weapons development and of which Musharraf was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, until his resignation from military service on 28 November 2007.
Khan was still under the house-arrest even the new democratic government of Yousaf Raza Gillani
was in effect. Therefore Khan turned to Islamabad High Court
for his final release, and filed a petition. After attending several hearings, the Islamabad High Court
ordered the government to release Khan on immediate effects. In 2009, Gillani government terminated house-arrest orders and uplifted the sanctions imposed on Khan previously by General Musharraf government. Hence, Khan was released by Islamabad High Court and the Gillani government pressed no criminal charges which were ever pressed on against him.
In May 2006, the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation held a hearing titled, "The A.Q. Khan Network: Case Closed?" Legislators and experts demanded that Pakistan turn Khan over to the U.S. and further Pakistan efforts to curb proliferation. When the news reached to Pakistan, Chairman of Senate Secretariat M.M. Suomrow called a meeting to observed and discuss the U.S. demands. In June 2006, a Pakistan Senate
subcommittee issued a unanimous resolution criticizing the U.S. committee, stating that Pakistan would not turn Khan over to U.S. authorities at any given cost.
In February 2009, two senior government officials announced that restrictions on Khan had been removed, allowing him to meet friends and relatives either at his home or elsewhere in Pakistan. The officials said that a security detail continued to observe his movements.
, a former IAEA chief and United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) chief; said in a report that Khan could not have acted alone "without the awareness of the Pakistani Government". According to Indian commentator Kuldip Nayar, Khan did not acted alone and the ISI, the Army, and even Bhutto knew what Khan was doing. It was Bhutto who provided his full government support even when ISI rejected him as incompetent scientist.
On 4 July 2008, in an interview, Khan blamed President Musharraf and the Army for the transfer of nuclear technology, claiming that Musharraf was aware of all the deals and he was the "Big Boss" for those deals.
Khan said that Pakistan gave centrifuges to North Korea in a 2000 shipment supervised by the army. The equipment was sent in a North Korean plane loaded under the supervision of Pakistani security officials. He also said that he had traveled to North Korea in 1999 with a Pakistani Army general to buy shoulder-launched missiles. Asked why he had taken sole responsibility for proliferation, Khan said friends, including a central figure in the ruling party at the time, had persuaded him that it was in the national interest. In return he had been promised complete freedom.
Khan wrote to journalist Simon Henderson on 10 December 2003, saying that he was acting precisely under the orders of the Pakistani government when he sold weapon designs to North Korea, Iran and Libya. Khan also says that Pakistan built a centrifuge plant for China in Hanzhong province, in exchange for enriched uranium.
Nuclear weapons expert David Albright
of the ISIS
agrees that Khan's activities were government-sanctioned. Leading experts, both within the country and abroad, believe that Khan was made scapegoat by Musharraf in order to save himself when General Musharraf allegedly authorized the illegal transfers of sensitive centrifuges to North-Korea through Khan in 1999. A larger and clearer investigation would be also opened the names of the high military officers, such as Admiral Sirohey
and General Mirza Beg, whom Musharraf served under. On political effect, investigations might also exposed senior statesman and politicians, such as Benazir Bhutto, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Aftab Kazi and many others who were allegedly claimed to be involved or either encouraged Khan to proliferate the technology for their own benefits.
(Suparco) — country's top national space authority. Khan remained a strong vocalist especially in the Suparco-proposed space projects. Khan followed Munir Ahmad Khan's footsteps and participated in Suparco's development of Hatf-I programme as project's senior scientist. Since 1996, Khan was increasingly involved in Pakistan's first Satellite Launch Vehicle
(SLV) project as he supervised the development of Ghauri-I
. And in March 2001, Khan announced that Pakistani scientists were in the process of building the country's first Satellite Launch Vehicle
(SLV) and that the project had been assigned to [Suparco, which also built the Badr-I. Khan also cited the fact that India
had made rapid strides in the fields of SLV and satellite manufacture as another motivation for developing an indigenous launch capabilities.
One of the premium project was when Khan led and served as the technical director of Suparco's scientists on the development and construction of Pakistan's first indigenous constructed launch facility and space port, Tilla Space Center where the Ghauri-I successfully took its first space flight. As metallurgist, Khan remained director of Suparco's Metallurgical Laboratories and educational facilities. In 1999, Khan briefed General Pervez Mushrraf describing his self-designed Low Earth orbit
(LEO) and suggested that Pakistan should launch a satellite from its own launch centers. But Musharraf did not grant him permission. He was highly disappointed and wrote about it in his column. On 10 December 2001, Pakistan launched its second Low Earth orbit
(LEO) satellite instead from Baikonur Cosmodrome
, Kazakhstan
aboard a Russia
n Zenit-2
.
and Daily Jang
.
, whose fellowship is highly restricted to scientists. Through Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Khan published two books on metallurgy and material science. Khan began to published his articles from KRL in 1980s, and began to organize conferences on Metallurgy by inviting materiel scientists from all over the world. Gopal S. Upadhyaya, an Indian nuclear scientist and metallurgist as well, attended Khan's conference in 1980s and personally met him along with Kuldip Nayar
. In Upadhyaya's words, Khan was a proud Pakistani who wanted to show the world that he and scientists from Pakistan are no inferior to any one in the world.
While in Technical University of Berlin , Khan briefly taught courses on Thermodynamic and Metallurgy under supervision of prof. Jongenburger as his assistant. At, Catholic University of Leuven, Khan worked and researched under dr. Stark and also taught courses on Calculus
and Differential geometry under his guidance. In Pakistan, Khan went onto established institutes and universities in his country and organizing the scientific organizations throughout the country. One of his notable contribution at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology
where he served as the Project-Director of this university. Khan went to served as one of the executive officer
of the Board of directors
of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology. After the construction of institute was completed, Khan became senior Professor of Metallurgical Engineering while also served as the Chairman of Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science and Engineering of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology. At there, Khan also taught advanced course on vector and Multivariable calculus
and continued teaching and instructing courses on material science and engineering.
Later, Khan helped established the Dr. A. Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering at the Karachi University.
After the ending of Khan's debriefings, Khan is serving as senior research associate at the Pakistan Academy of Sciences where he continued to published papers on metallurgy. On recent, Khan was one of the academic who opposed the dissolution of Higher Education Commission under the Eighteenth Amendment
to the Constitution of Pakistan
.
. According to doctors, the operation was successful, but on 30 October it was reported that his condition had deteriorated and he was suffering from deep vein thrombosis
.
hospital with low blood pressure
and fever, reportedly due to an infection. He was released four days later.
, and Pakistan's Media
have always portraited Abdul Qadeer Khan as "Father of nuclear detterence development". In fact, Abdul Qadeer Khan was the technical director of only one HEU based Gas-centrifuge
project, which was one part of Pakistan's uranium enrichment programme. Throughout his active role, Abdul Qadeer Khan's popularity overshadowed Zulifikar Ali Bhutto who gave birth to this programme, and Munir Ahmad Khan
who was the driving force of leading the projects in the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear deterrence program. From the start of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, nuclear development was under the supervision of its designated technical director and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan
, with contributions of other scientists, such as Abdus Salam
, Riazuddin, Asghar Qadir, Dr. Samar Mubarakmand
, Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad
and several others. The nuclear development was exercised under the administrative leadership of Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who gave birth and initiated, administrated, and orchestrated this programme.
The proliferation activities caused Pakistan an international embarrassment, and seriously undermined Pakistan's efforts to use atoms for peaceful and economical reasons. Abdul Qadeer Khan came under intense criticism by his peers, such as Pervez Hoodbhoy
, a prominent nuclear physicist, over his involvement in nuclear proliferation. Hoodbhoy heavily criticized the American (including David Albright
), European, and the Pakistani media, for responsible for certain popular misconceptions about A.Q. Khan's role in the scientific research that was started by Munir Ahmad Khan and Abdus Salam in January 1972. In 1999, in an editorial essay written at Chowk.com
, Hoodbhoy wrote:
across the countries universities and colleges. On 14 August 1989, Abdul Qadeer Khan, along with his counterpart Munir Ahmad Khan, was honored by the Government of Pakistan after he was awarded the second
highest civil award, "Hilal-e-Imtiaz" by the former Prime minister Benazir Bhutto
in a public ceremony. In 14 August 1996, Abdul Qadeer Khan was awarded the highest
civilian award "Nishan-e-Imtiaz" by former Prime minister Nawaz Sharif. On 12 March 1999, Abdul Qadeer Khan was again awarded and honored the highest civilian award "Nishan-e-Imtiaz" from President Justice (retired) Rafique Tarar
. With receiving the Nishane-e-Imtiaz for the second time, Abdul Qadeer Khan remains the only Pakistani citizen who has been twice honored and awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, to date.
Even after his confession, Abdul Qadeer Khan remains widely popular among Pakistani civil society and he is considered domestically to be one of its most-influential and respected scientists. In an interview with Pakistani political analyst Hamid Mir
, Dr. Salim Farookhi described Khan as, "the most influential and talented scientist that Pakistan has produced."
Articles
Online Books
|-
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
as Mohsin-e-Pakistan (in Urdu: محسن پاکِستان; lit: Savior of Pakistan), D.Eng
Doctor of Engineering
The Doctor of Engineering is an academic degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and research in engineering or applied sciences...
, Sc.D
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
, HI
Hilal-i-Imtiaz
The Hilal-i-Imtiaz, English: Crescent of Excellence, Urdu: هلال ا متيا ز , is the second highest civilian award and honor given to both civilians and military officers of the State of Pakistan|Pakistan armed forces by the Government of Pakistan...
, NI
Nishan-i-Imtiaz
The Nishan-i-Imtiaz is one of the state organized civil decorations of State of Pakistan. It is the highest honor — along with comparable to optimum award Nishan-e-Pakistan — given to any civilian in Pakistan based on their achievements that caused the world recognition for Pakistan or/ done a...
(twice), FPAS; more widely known as Dr. A. Q. Khan, is a Pakistani nuclear scientist and a metallurgical engineer who served as the Director-General
Director-general
The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...
of the Kahuta Research Laboratories
Kahuta Research Laboratories
The Khan Research Laboratories ,, formerly known as Engineering Research Laboratories , is a multi-program Pakistan's weapons science and engineering research and development institute and nuclear research facility...
(KRL) from 1976 until 2001. Abdul Qadeer Khan is widely regarded as the founder of HEU based Gas-centrifuge
Zippe-type centrifuge
The Zippe-type centrifuge is a device designed to collect Uranium-235. It was developed in the Soviet Union by a team of 60 Austrian and German scientists captured after World War II, working in detention...
uranium enrichment programme for Pakistan's nuclear deterrence development
Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction
Pakistan began focusing on nuclear weapons development in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who delegated the program to the Chairman of PAEC Munir Ahmad Khan...
.
Abdul Qadeer Khan was one of Pakistan's top scientists, and was involved in the country's various scientific programmes until his debriefing. On January 2004, Khan was officially summoned for a debriefing
Debriefing
-Military debriefing:Debriefings originated in the military. This type of debriefing is used to receive information from a pilot or soldier after a mission, and to instruct the individual as to what information can be released to the public and what information is restricted...
on his suspicious activities
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
in other countries after the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
provided evidences to the Pakistan Government, and confessed it a month later. However, these activities turned out to be ordered and supervised by government of Pakistan and the military. After years of debriefing, the Islamabad High Court
Islamabad High Court
-History:Islamabad High Court located in Islamabad the capital of Pakistan was established under a presidential order on December 14, 2007. However its creation was delayed because of the stay order issued by the Lahore High Court after its establishment was challenged there. But Supreme Court of...
(IHC) on 6 February 2009 declared Abdul Qadeer Khan to be a free citizen of Pakistan, allowing him free movement inside the country. The verdict was rendered by Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Aslam
Sardar Muhammad Aslam
Sardar Muhammad Aslam is a former Justice of Lahore High Court, jurist and professional lawyer from Pakistan. He also was justice in Supreme Court of Pakistan, a former Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court. However, as result of Constitution Petition No. 09 Of 2009 and Constitution Petition No...
. In September 2009, expressing concerns over the Islamabad High Court
Islamabad High Court
-History:Islamabad High Court located in Islamabad the capital of Pakistan was established under a presidential order on December 14, 2007. However its creation was delayed because of the stay order issued by the Lahore High Court after its establishment was challenged there. But Supreme Court of...
’s decision to end all security restrictions on Khan, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
warned that Khan still remains a "serious proliferation risk".
Early life
Khan was born in 1936 to a PashtunPashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
family in the Bhopal State of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(then part of the British Indian Empire). His father Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Khan was an academic who served in the Education Ministry of the British Indian Government and after retirement in 1935, settled permanently in Bhopal State. In 1947, after the partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, the family migrated from India to Pakistan, and settled in West-Pakistan
West Pakistan
West Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
. Khan studied in Saint Anthony's High School
St. Anthony's High School (Lahore)
St. Anthony's High School is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore in Pakistan. It is ranked among the best educational institutions in Punjab. It is situated at Lahore's historical road, The Mall....
of Lahore, and then enrolled at the D.J. Science College
D. J. Science College
D. J. Science College is an educational institute located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.- History :Inaugurated as Sindh Arts College by Lord Reay, Governor of Bombay, on January 17, 1882, the college was renamed D. J. Science College upon completion of the present structure in 1887...
of Karachi. There, he took B.Sc.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
under the supervision of Suparco
Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission , is an executive agency of the Government of Pakistan, responsible for nation's public and civil space program and aeronautics and aerospace research...
physicist Dr. Bashir Syed
Bashir Syed
Bashir Syed or Bashir A. Syed, Sc.D., is Pakistani-American solar physicist and a NASA research scientist to the field of Robotics and solar sciences. He is the a member of New York Academy of Sciences. He...
. In 1956, he attended Karachi University and obtained a B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in Metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
in 1960. To support the fees of his education, Khan was employed at Siemens Engineering where he worked as a practical trainee (junior engineer).
After graduation, he was employed by the Karachi Metropolitan Government and worked as an Inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
of weight and measures in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan. In 1961, he went to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
to study Metallurgical engineering at the Technical University of Berlin. In 1967, Khan obtained an engineer's degree
Engineer's degree
An engineer's degree is an advanced academic degree in engineering that is conferred in Europe, some countries of Latin America, and a few institutions in the United States....
(in Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
), an equivalent of Master of Science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
, from Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology , also known as TU Delft, is the largest and oldest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and a Doctor of Engineering
Doctor of Engineering
The Doctor of Engineering is an academic degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and research in engineering or applied sciences...
degree in Metallurgical engineering under the supervision of Martin Brabers from the Catholic University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, in 1972. Khan's doctoral dissertations were written in fluent German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. His doctoral thesis dealt and contained the fundamental work in Martensite
Martensite
Martensite, named after the German metallurgist Adolf Martens , most commonly refers to a very hard form of steel crystalline structure, but it can also refer to any crystal structure that is formed by displacive transformation. It includes a class of hard minerals occurring as lath- or...
, and its extended industrial applications to the field of Morphology
Morphology
Morphology may mean:*Morphology , the study of the structure and content of word forms*Morphology , the study of the form or shape of an organism or part thereof...
, a field that studies the shape, size, texture and phase distribution of physical objects
Research in Europe
In 1972, the year he received his doctorateDoctor of Engineering
The Doctor of Engineering is an academic degree awarded on the basis of advanced study and research in engineering or applied sciences...
, Khan through a former university classmate, Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner, also known as Fred Tinner; Born 1937, is a Swiss nuclear engineer and a long-associated friend of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan— Pakistan's former top scientist— and connected with the Khan nuclear network trafficking in the proliferation of nuclear materials and centrifuge designs to...
, and a recommendation from his old professor and mentor, Martin J. Brabers, joined the senior staff of the Physics Dynamics Research Laboratory (FDO) in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. At first, he was responsible for evaluating High-strength metals to be used for centrifuge components
Centrifugal compressor
Centrifugal compressors, sometimes termed radial compressors, are a sub-class of dynamic axisymmetric work-absorbing turbomachinery.The idealized compressive dynamic turbo-machine achieves a pressure rise by adding kinetic energy/velocity to a continuous flow of fluid through the rotor or impeller...
. The FDO was a subcontractor for URENCO Group
Urenco Group
The URENCO Group is a nuclear fuel company operating several uranium enrichment plants in Germany, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It supplies nuclear power stations in about 15 countries, and has a 25% share of the global market for enrichment services...
, the uranium enrichment research facility at Almelo
Almelo
Almelo is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie and Bornerbroek....
, Netherlands, which had been established in 1970 by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
to assure a supply of enriched uranium
Enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a kind of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium is 99.284% 238U isotope, with 235U only constituting about 0.711% of its weight...
for European
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
nuclear reactors. According to Khan's deputy, Dr. Ghulam Dastigar Alam, Khan was very fluent in German, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, and the FDO administration gave him a drawing of a centrifuge machine for translation. However, Khan later joined the URENCO Group after Urenco offered him a prestigious job. Khan was responsible for performing experiments on uranium metallurgy
Uranium metallurgy
In materials science and materials engineering, uranium metallurgy is the study of the physical and chemical behavior of uranium and its alloys....
and was tasked to produce commercial-grade uranium usable for light water reactors. In the meantime, the URENCO Group gave drawings of centrifuges for the solution of engineering problems that Urenco's engineers were facing. The Urenco facility used Zippe-type centrifuge
Zippe-type centrifuge
The Zippe-type centrifuge is a device designed to collect Uranium-235. It was developed in the Soviet Union by a team of 60 Austrian and German scientists captured after World War II, working in detention...
technology to separate the fissile isotope
Isotope
Isotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
s 235U
Uranium-235
- References :* .* DOE Fundamentals handbook: Nuclear Physics and Reactor theory , .* A piece of U-235 the size of a grain of rice can produce energy equal to that contained in three tons of coal or fourteen barrels of oil. -External links:* * * one of the earliest articles on U-235 for the...
from non-fissile 238U
Uranium-238
Uranium-238 is the most common isotope of uranium found in nature. It is not fissile, but is a fertile material: it can capture a slow neutron and after two beta decays become fissile plutonium-239...
by spinning UF6
Uranium hexafluoride
Uranium hexafluoride , referred to as "hex" in the nuclear industry, is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. It forms solid grey crystals at standard temperature and pressure , is highly toxic, reacts violently with water...
gas at up to 100,000Rpm
Revolutions per minute
Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...
. Abdul Qadeer Khan's academic and leading-edge research in metallurgy brought great laurels to Urenco Group. In a short span of time, Khan earned a great reputation there, and enjoyed a distinguished career at Urenco. One of his greatest achievements was to enhance and improve the efficiency of the gas-centrifuges, which he did all alone. URENCO enjoyed a great academic relationship with Dr. Khan, and Urenco had Khan as one of the most senior scientists at the research facility where he worked and researched. URENCO granted Khan access to the most restricted areas of its facility as well as to the most restricted and highly classified documentation on gas centrifuge technology. During this time, Urenco had granted this privilege to few of the senior academic scientists who were working in the highly secretive and classified research projects.
Uranium enrichment is an extremely difficult process, as 235U
Uranium-235
- References :* .* DOE Fundamentals handbook: Nuclear Physics and Reactor theory , .* A piece of U-235 the size of a grain of rice can produce energy equal to that contained in three tons of coal or fourteen barrels of oil. -External links:* * * one of the earliest articles on U-235 for the...
exists in natural uranium at a concentration of only 0.7%; for the purposes of most power-generation reactors the concentration of that isotope has to be increased about fivefold, to at least 3%. The trick is to isolate and shed a similar isotope known as 238U
Uranium-238
Uranium-238 is the most common isotope of uranium found in nature. It is not fissile, but is a fertile material: it can capture a slow neutron and after two beta decays become fissile plutonium-239...
which is barely 1% heavier. By spinning at very high speeds—electrically driven to 100,000 Rpm, in perfect balance, on superb bearings, in a vacuum, linked by pipes to thousands of other units doing the same—this is what the centrifuge achieves. Much of the technical details of these centrifuge systems are regulated as secret information and subject to export controls because they could be used for the purposes of proliferation
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
, and useful to make weapon-grade fuel for weapon making purposes. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was responsible for improving the efficiency of the centrifuges used by Urenco, and greatly contributed to the technological advancement of the Zippe technology, a technology that was developed by Gernot Zippe
Gernot Zippe
Gernot Zippe , was a Austrian-German mechanical engineer who is widely held responsible for leading the team which developed the Zippe-type centrifuge, a centrifuge machine for the collection of 235U in Soviet Union....
, a mechanical engineer, in the Soviet Union during the 1940s
Forced labor of Germans in the Soviet Union
Forced labor of Germans in the Soviet Union was considered by the Soviet Union to be part of German war reparations for the damage inflicted by Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union during World War II. German civilians in Eastern Europe were deported to the USSR after World War II as forced laborers...
.
Initiation
Pakistan's atomic weapons research program started on January 20, 1972, when Zulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
, the then Chief Martial Law Administrator
Chief Martial Law Administrator
The office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator was a senior government post created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and powers to the holder of the post to enforce martial law in the country. This office has been used mostly by...
, chaired a secret meeting of academic scientists at Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
. This was known as the Multan meeting. Formal research was launched under the administrative control of Bhutto, and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(or PAEC) under its chairman, Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
, was exploring the Plutonium route, at first, to developing an atomic device. In 1974, Indian Premier
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
gave verbal authorization to the scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre is India's primary nuclear research facility based in Mumbai. It has a number of nuclear reactors, all of which are used for India's nuclear power and research programme.- History :...
(BARC) to conduct a test of a device that they had built, and the preparation was completed under extreme secrecy. On May 18, 1974, India conducted a surprise nuclear test, codenamed Operation Smiling Buddha
Smiling Buddha
The Smiling Buddha, formally designated as Pokhran-I, was the codename given to Republic of India's first nuclear test explosion that took place at the long-constructed Indian Army base, Pokhran Test Range at Pokhran municipality, Rajasthan state on 18 May 1974 at 8:05 a.m....
, near the Pakistan's eastern border. The test was conducted at the long-constructed Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
base, known as Pokhran Test Range (PTR). It was only three years since Pakistan's humiliating defeat in the 1971 Indo-Pak Winter war
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
and the Winter war had put Pakistan's mortal existence in great danger. This nuclear test, Operation Smiling Buddha, greatly alarmed the Government of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
. In Pakistan, this test was greatly sensed and saw as last anticipation of Pakistan's death. Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
quickly scrambled to establish a sustainable nuclear weapons capability in the shortest time possible. Sensing the importance of this test, Munir Ahmad Khan secretly launched the Project-706
Project-706
Project-706, also known as Project-726 or as the Kahuta Project, was a science effort codename of a project conducted during the Cold War and Russo-Afghan War whose objective was to develop Pakistan' first atomic weapon. The mainstream goal of the project was the development of an atomic bomb using...
, a secret uranium enrichment programme, under its first technical director Sültan Bashiruddin Mahmood
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood
Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, otherwise written as, Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood), and Manchester, United Kingdom. A controversial figure, Bashiruddin Mahmood is widely popular in Pakistan's scientific and religious circles for his scientific interpretation and its relation to Quran...
.
During this time, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was working in a weapon-grade centrifuge production facility in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
as senior scientist. As he learned the news, Dr. Abdül Qadeer Khan went to the Pakistan Embassy in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and approached Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
government officials
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
where he offered to help Pakistan’s nuclear deterrence program. At first, he approached a pair of Pakistan military scientists who were in the Netherlands on business. At the Pakistan Embassy, the military scientists discouraged him by saying: "As a metallurgical engineer, it would be a hard job for him to find a job in PAEC (Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
)".
Undaunted, Abdul Qadeer Khan wrote to Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
, saying, "he [Abdul Qadeer Khan] sets out his experience and encourages Prime Minister Bhutto to make an atomic bomb using uranium, rather than plutonium, the method Pakistan is currently trying to adopt under the leadership of Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
". As letter was received by Prime minister Secretariat, because Khan, at that time was unknown to the Government, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto asked the ISI to run a complete background check on Khan and prepare an assessment report on Khan. The ISI submitted its report and recommending Khan as an incompetent scientist in the field of nuclear technology based on his academic discipline. However, Bhutto was unsatisfied with ISIs report and was eager to known more about Khan, therefore Bhutto asked Munir Ahmad Khan to dispatch a team of PAEC's scientists to meet Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. Munir Ahmad Khan chose Sültan Bashiruddin Mahmood as head of the team and the team met with Dr. Khan at night and the discussion was held until the next day. After the meeting, the team returned to Pakistan and Bhutto decided to meet Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan immediately. A letter was directed, and Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan took a leave from Urenco Group.
Joining the Project-706
In December 1974, Abdul Qadeer Khan traveled to Pakistan and immediately went to Prime minister Secretariat without even stopping at the local hotel. The meeting was held at midnight and remained under extreme secrecy with only few knowing about it. There, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan met with Zulfikar Bhutto, Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
, and dr. Mübascher Hassan
Mubashir Hassan
Mubashir Hassan PhD, is a Pakistani civil engineer and science administrator known for his work in Hydraulics and his political role in the development of the atom bomb project....
, Bhutto's Science Adviser. During the meeting, dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan enlightened the importance to Uranium-based device, but was unable to convince Bhutto to adopt uranium as the best approach rather than plutonium to make an atomic device. As Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
was a plutonium technologist and an expert in nuclear fuel cycle, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not agree to halt the plutonium efforts but moved to begin a parallel uranium program. After dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan took off from the Prime minister Secretariat, Zulfikar Bhutto quietly told with his close friends Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
and Mübascher Hassan that, "He [Abdul Qadeer Khan] seems to make sense."
Next day early morning, another meeting was held where dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan persuaded again to Bhutto and tried to convince him to halt the plutonium pursuit. In a meeting with Bhutto, Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
and senior academic scientists and engineers at PAEC believed that they could run the reactor without Canadian assistance, and they insisted that with the French extraction plant in the offing, Pakistan should stick with its original plan. Bhutto did not disagree, but saw the advantage of mounting a parallel effort toward enriched uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
.
Before Abdul Qadeer Khan's joining, the uranium route was considered secondary, and most efforts were put to develop a device with weapon-grade plutonium. In spring of 1976, Abdul Qadeer Khan joined the programme, and worked initially under Sultan Mahmood. However, after Mahmood briefed Khan on the project, the pair disagreed, and Abdul Qadeer Khan became highly unsatisfied with the work led by Mahmood. He wrote a letter to Munir Ahmad Khan, later directed to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, where he expressed his discontent with Mahmood and saying that he wanted to work independently.
Kahuta Programme
Bhutto sensed a great danger as the scientists were split between uranium and plutonium routes. Therefore, Bhutto called Abdul Qadeer Khan for a meeting which was held at the Prime minister Secretariat. With the backing of Bhutto, Khan took over the enrichment programme and re-named the project to Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL). Abdul Qadeer Khan disliked the idea of PAEC getting involved in his work; instead he advocated for Corps of Engineers to lead the construction of the suitable operational enrichment plant. The E-in-CEngineer-in-Chief (Pakistan Army)
Engineer-in-Chief or E-in-C, is a Colonel Commandant of the Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers, Frontier Works Organisation and the Military Engineering Services of Pakistan...
chose Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Zahid Ali Akbar
Zahid Ali Akbar
Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan , TKdt, was an engineering officer of Pakistan Army who oversaw the construction of the Generals Combatant Army Headquarter and is well-known as the director of the Kahuta Project as part of the Pakistan's acquisition of integrated atomic bomb project...
, a system engineer notable for leading the construction of GHQ, Pakistan Army's Combatant Headquarter. Brigadier Zahid Ali Akbar chose the city of Kahuta
Kahuta
Kahuta is a town and tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Pakistan's Punjab Province. According to Pakistan's 2008 census, Kahuta tehsil has a population of approximately 160,000....
near Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, Punjab Province, for the operational enrichment facility. Kahuta, at that time, was a remote and dangerous mountainous area. And, because the experiments were too dangerous to perform in public area, Brigadier Zahid chose Kahuta as best place to perform the dangerous experiments where public life was no where to be found. With promotion awarded by Bhutto, Zahid Ali Akbar
Zahid Ali Akbar
Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan , TKdt, was an engineering officer of Pakistan Army who oversaw the construction of the Generals Combatant Army Headquarter and is well-known as the director of the Kahuta Project as part of the Pakistan's acquisition of integrated atomic bomb project...
was made Major-General, and served as the first Director of the Project-706. Major-General Akbar designed the entire city of Kahuta and as well the enrichment plant, facility and the research institute near by. During 1970s, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan worked at Engineering Research Laboratories as senior scientist and was responsible for established the laboratories and the enrichment chambers there. Major-General Akbar's office was shifted at the General's Headquarter (GHQ) and in his capacity, dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan served as intern director of the Engineering Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL). In 1980, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was officially made Director-General of the ERL, and he would later on served his role as more businessman than the scientist. In 1983, Pakistan's Chief Martial Law Administrator
Chief Martial Law Administrator
The office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator was a senior government post created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and powers to the holder of the post to enforce martial law in the country. This office has been used mostly by...
and Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq subsequently renamed it from Engineering Research Laboratories to Khan Research Laboratories
Khan Research Laboratories
The Khan Research Laboratories ,, formerly known as Engineering Research Laboratories , is a multi-program Pakistan's weapons science and engineering research and development institute and nuclear research facility...
(KRL). At first the facility suffered many sat back, but after PAEC sent its scientists to ERL for a time being, the enrichment programme became fully functioned by the early 1981.
The Scope of Research
In spite of Khan's initiation and leading the uranium program, the PAEC led by Munir Ahmad KhanMunir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
remained in charge of all the other critical steps of the nuclear fuel cycle, starting from uranium exploration, processing, conversion, fuel fabrication and reprocessing- both in the pre and post enrichment phases as well as the plutonium, nuclear weapons and civil and military reactors programs. From the beginning, Abdul Qadeer Khan was not involved in the designing of the nuclear weapons and including its calculations and such details were never provided to him by the government. Unlike other scientists who were generally allowed to visit country's most classified research institute, Khan was not allowed to visit many of secret and classified sites, such as The New Laboratories where the weapon-grade plutonium and weapon designing took place. As oppose to others, Khan needed government clarifications and special permissions were required by Khan in order to visit such sites where he never visited alone and at least senior active duty officers would accompanied him.
Hence, Khan was kept in dark and was not informed by his colleagues or the government officials if cold tests were taking place in under extreme secrecy. Khan was also not invited, nor any one provided him the details, to the secret cold-test
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
of a nuclear device, codename Kirana-I that was conducted in March 1983 by the PAEC under Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
. In 1984, Abdul Qadeer Khan's KRL claimed to carry out its own nuclear cold test of a weapon. However, this seemed unsuccessful as PAEC had already carried out the test in 1983, and would carry out 24 more cold tests of different nuclear weapon designs. In 1984, KRL had produces the first and fresh batch of weapon-grade uranium loosely based on the Zippe Type technology.
Abdul Qadeer Khan's Kahuta Research laboratories (KRL) was initially singly focused on enrichment of natural uranium into weapon-grade uranium. Despite of international media's reporting, neither the KRL nor Abdul Qadeer Khan, was mandated to participate or/ involved with other phases of the nuclear weapon research development, including the actual weapon designing, development and testing of weapons, which remained under PAEC. Nor was it involved in upstream activities such as uranium exploration, mining, refining and the production of Urania as well as the conversion of yellow cake into 6UF, the gaseous feedstock for the enrichment. Nor was it responsible for contributing in nuclear energy programme or the reprocessing programme, which also remained under PAEC.
Competition with PAEC
From the start, the KRL and PAEC were fierce rivals and competitors. From the beginning of the project, Abdul Qadeer Khan disliked the idea of PAEC involvement in KRL's enrichment projects. That was the reason that Army Engineering Core had led the construction of the KRL facility under Brigadier Zahid Ali Akbar. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was a staunch criticCritic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
of Munir Ahmad Khan's work. Abdul Qadeer Khan, on many different occasions, unsuccessfully tried to remove Munir Ahmad Khan's role in the nuclear weapons research programme. In spite of that, Munir Ahmad Khan and the PAEC provided its full support to Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan's work. The Atlantic Monthly described the two as mortal enemies.
In the early 1980s, KRL also sought to develop nuclear weapons and claimed to have carried out at least one cold test in 1983. This appears to have been unsuccessful. PAEC had carried out the first cold test on 11 March 1983, and in the following years conducted 24 cold tests of different weapons designs. Khan used his influenced in the government to took over the projects from PAEC and one of the notable case was in 1980, when Khan took over the Laser range-finder
Laser range-finder
A laser rangefinder is a device which uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in a narrow beam towards the object and measuring the time taken by the pulse to be reflected...
project which was awarded to fellow scientist dr. Shaukat Hameed Khan
Shaukat Hameed Khan
Shaukat Hameed Khan , , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist and a senior professor of nuclear physics at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology. He previously had served as the rector of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology...
from PAEC. In the meantime, the KRL launched other competing weapons development projects, such as the nuclear-capable and liquid-fueled Ghauri-I programme
Ghauri (missile)
The Hatf V, named Ghauri , is a medium-range ballistic missile developed by Kahuta Research Laboratories of Pakistan. Powered by a single stage liquid fuel rocket motor, the missile has an optimum range of 1,500 km and can carry a payload of 700 kg...
. In early 1995, the PAEC developed the solid fuel
Solid fuel
Solid fuel refers to various types of solid material that are used as fuel to produce energy and provide heating, usually released through combustion....
ed Shaheen-I Systems. According to its scientists, the PAEC's Shaheen missile programme was highly ambitious and ingenious. Dr. Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand , , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, who served as the founding chairman of National Engineering and Scientific Commission from 2001 till 2007. Samar Mubarak-Mand launched the Missile Integration Programme in 1987 which was successfully completed in 2005...
was the lead designer of the Shaheen missile programme.
In 1980s, KRL produced both weapons and reactor grade uranium to level the competition with PAEC. However, while PAEC developed its the programme indigenously under Munir Ahmad Khan, Ishfaq Ahmad and Samar Mubarakmand, Abdul Qadeer Khan's team anticipated and richly contributed to the country's first Battlefield Range Ballistic Missile
Battlefield Range Ballistic Missile
Battlefield range ballistic missile is a type of ballistic missile with battlefield range, i.e. less than 100 km.-Specific BRBM's:* Hatf I* OTR-21_Tochka* FROG-7* NASR -See also:...
(BRBM), the Hatf missile system, collaborating with the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission , is an executive agency of the Government of Pakistan, responsible for nation's public and civil space program and aeronautics and aerospace research...
(SUPARCO).
1998 Atomic Testings
As the competition between KRL and PAEC was already intense, the competition became highly intensified when neighboring IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
conduct a series of tests of its nuclear bombs, codename Pokhran-II
Pokhran-II
Pokharan-II refers to test explosions of five nuclear devices, three on 11 May and two on 13 May 1998, conducted by India at the Pokhran test range. These nuclear tests resulted in a variety of sanctions against India by a number of major states....
, in 1998 in long-constructed Indian Army
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...
Pokhran Test Range
Pokhran
Pokhran is a city and a municipality located in Jaisalmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation.-Geography:Pokhran http://marupradesh.org/ located at...
. These nuclear tests conducted by India caused great alarm and internal tension in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
, Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
at that time, came under intense media and public pressure to conduct its own nuclear tests. After the Indian nuclear weapons tests, Abdul Qadeer Khan repeatedly met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, trying for permission to test Pakistan's nuclear weapons in Chagai. He proposed the idea that the tests could by carried out in the underground tunnels in Kahuta. But it was denied by the government as well as the Pakistan Defence Forces as too aggressive towards India and raging a war against India. Despite his efforts, Sharif instead chose PAEC, under Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
, due to their experience of ingeniously carrying out the tests in the past.
When the news reached to the him that PAEC has been tasked with the testings, furious Khan was badly upset and frustrated with the Prime minister. Without wasting a minute, Khan reached to Pakistan Army's Combatant General's Headquarter (GHQ) where he met with General Jehängeer Cäramatt, Chief of Army Staff, where he lodged a strong protest and grievousness to the Chief of Army Staff. General Cäramatt then called the Prime minister Secretariat, and Prime minister decided that KRL scientists, including Dr. A.Q. Khan, would also be involved in the nuclear test preparations and present at the time of testing alongside those of the PAEC. In meantime, Scharief sought to mitigate the intense rivalry between PAEC and KRL by asking Khan to provide its enriched uranium to PAEC. Prime minister Scharief also urged both KRL and PAEC to work together in the nation's best interest. It was the KRL's HEU that ultimately led to the successful detonation of Pakistan's first nuclear devices on 28 May 1998, under codename Chagai-I
Chagai-I
The Chagai-I was a codename referring to the five underground nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan at 15:15hrs in 28th May of 1998. It was named Chagai-I, as the tests were conducted in the Chagai District...
. Two days later, on 30 May, a small team of scientists belonging to PAEC, under the leadership of Dr. Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand , , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, who served as the founding chairman of National Engineering and Scientific Commission from 2001 till 2007. Samar Mubarak-Mand launched the Missile Integration Programme in 1987 which was successfully completed in 2005...
, a plutonium nuclear device, codename Chagai-II. According to Pakistan defense analyst and retired engineer officer Lieutenant-General Talat Masood, the weapon-grade device was much more powerful than the uranium device. The yield
Nuclear weapon yield
The explosive yield of a nuclear weapon is the amount of energy discharged when a nuclear weapon is detonated, expressed usually in the equivalent mass of trinitrotoluene , either in kilotons or megatons , but sometimes also in terajoules...
of the device was reported to 12-20 Kt
TNT equivalent
TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...
. However, in an interview with Dr. Shahid Masood
Shahid Masood
Shahid Masood Khan , commonly known as Dr. Shahid Masood, is Pakistani journalist, columnist, TV show host and a political analyst. He is the former President of ARY TV Network, Group Executive Director of Geo TV network and MD/Chairman of Pakistan Televion Corporation. Currently, he is working as...
of ARY Television Network
ARY Digital
ARY Digital, a subsidiary of the ARY Group, is a popular Pakistani television network available in Pakistan, the Middle East, North America and Europe. The ARY Group of companies is a Dubai-based holding company founded by a Pakistani businessman, Abdul Razzak Yaqoob . The network caters to the...
, Abdul Qadeer Khan said that even the second nuclear test was also based on Uranium-fissile fuel, though he did not provide any evidence to his claim despite the anchor urged to provide the claims.
In an interview and the thesis written in his book, Khan maintained that eye-witnessing the nuclear tests, and becoming of Pakistan as nuclear power, was his most happiest, finest, and glorified days of his life.
Proliferation of URENCO technology
Abdul Qadeer Khan then established an administrative proliferation network through Dubai to smuggle URENCO nuclear technology to Khan Research Laboratories. Abdul Qadeer Khan, partnered with Friedrich TinnerFriedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner, also known as Fred Tinner; Born 1937, is a Swiss nuclear engineer and a long-associated friend of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan— Pakistan's former top scientist— and connected with the Khan nuclear network trafficking in the proliferation of nuclear materials and centrifuge designs to...
and Peter Finke
Peter Finke
Dr. Peter Finke is a German theoretical physicist who participated in Project-706, Pakistan's clandestine nuclear research project. A close associate and friend of the famous Pakistani nuclear engineer Munir Ahmad Khan , he is citizen of both Pakistan and Germany...
, established a company to transfer Urenco technology to Pakistan, Libya, and Iran. However, the cover was blown by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
MI-6, and Finke, along with unnamed ISI officer, defected to Pakistan while Tinner escaped to Libya.
On an interview given by Dr. G.D. Alam — a theoretical physicist who headed the enrichment programme, alongside with Abdul Qadeer Khan — made a confession acknowledging A.Q. Khan's nuclear proliferation work. According to Dr. Ghulam Dastigar Alam, the URENCO Group had given Abdul Qadeer Khan the drawings of centrifuges for translation, and to find out the errors in the centrifuges designs that URENCO engineers were facing. Abdul Qadeer Khan brought those drawings (blue prints) to Pakistan without notifying the URENCO Group and the Dutch government. Abdul Qadeer Khan's stolen drawings of centrifuge machine were incomplete and incorrect. Academic scientists, such as Dr. Tasnim Shah
Tasneem M. Shah
Tasneem M. Shah, Ph.D., SI, TI, is a Pakistani scientist and a prominent mathematician who has made pioneering and instrumental research and contributions to the field of computational fluid dynamics at Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories...
, Dr. G.D. Alam, Dr. Qadir Hussain
Mohammad Qadir Hussain
Dr. Mohammad Qadir Hussain is a Pakistani nuclear physicist who specialized in High-energy nuclear physics and nuclear reactor physics. He is the former employee of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission who has claimed that the process using by PAEC to enrich uranium was developed and discovered...
, Dr. Anwar Ali
Anwar Ali (scientist)
Anwar Ali, born: 1945 in Lahore, British Punjab State, British Indian Empire, , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 2006 till 2009...
, had developed new and powerful version of the centrifugal machine, and Abdul Qadeer Khan had nothing to do with it. Even though it was Abdul Qadeer Khan's tasked to figure out the problems as URENCO Group had trusted him for the solution of the problems. As the problems were fixed, Abdul Qadeer Khan began the enrichment operations in KRL and a milestone was reached in 1978 with the enrichment project. In 1981, Dr. G.D. Alam and other academic scientists were transferred back to PAEC as they had developed serious disagreements with Abdul Qadeer Khan over his nuclear proliferation activities.
In 1980, a foreign government from an unknown Arab country contacted Dr. A.Q. Khan. Khan began his nuclear proliferation network and tried to include other scientists in his scheme, including Alam. The scientists had declined to cooperate with Khan. Abdul Qadeer Khan then decided to begin his independent operations in other countries. In his statement, Ghulam Dastigar Alam disclosed that: To this day, Dr. A.Q. Khan knows nothing about nuclear science
Nuclear technology
Nuclear technology is technology that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei. Among the notable nuclear technologies are nuclear power, nuclear medicine, and nuclear weapons...
apart from the basics. He still lacks the knowledge to speak about technical issues involved in the development of nuclear technology.
In 2004, Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand , , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, who served as the founding chairman of National Engineering and Scientific Commission from 2001 till 2007. Samar Mubarak-Mand launched the Missile Integration Programme in 1987 which was successfully completed in 2005...
— a nuclear physicist who supervised the Chagai tests — provided further details about A.Q. Khan's proliferation network in an interview with Hamid Mir
Hamid Mir
Hamid Mir is a Pakistani journalist and editor. He is also a news anchor, terrorism expert, and security analyst who regularly participates in international conferences. He is also known for his columns in Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and English newspapers and hosts a popular political talk show on Geo...
's Capital Talk
Capital Talk
Capital Talk is a popular current events debate television program hosted by Hamid Mir that airs on GEO News.From its website: As Pakistan is a country where with advent of new day we see a new political development so it brings into forefront those political developments in such a manner so that...
. Mubarakmand acknowledged that the PAEC in IAEA first became aware of A.Q. Khan's network in 1980s, as PAEC was also a part of Libya and Iraq weapon's inspections. When the Pakistani Government confronted Abdul Qadeer Khan, he simply denied the accusations. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan first visited Chagai on May 28. He arrived 15 minutes prior to the tests, Mubarakmand concluded. He ended his interview by saying: It was PAEC, especially the Theoretical Physics Group (TPG), that designed and developed the weapons as well as the programme. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was only tasked with the enrichment project that he had taken over in 1976. If he knew how to build the designs of weapons, Iraq, Libya and Iran would have developed the weapons by now, Mubarakmand concluded.
Suspicions of outside involvement
The success development of uranium enrichment programme attracted the outside world rapidly that observers suspected outside assistance. The western intelligence agencies reported that senior Chinese technicians, from their own nuclear weapons program, had been at the facility in the early 1980s. But, due to lack of evidence, it report did not received any attention, but suspicions soon fell on Khan's suspicious activities at Urenco Group. In 1983, Khan was sentenced in absentia to four years in prison by an Amsterdam court for attempted espionage. When the news reached to Pakistan, BarristerBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
S.M. Zafar
S.M. Zafar
S.M. Zafar, is a Pakistani human rights activist, noted lawyer , politician, and present Senator, PML-Q.-Career:Zafar began his career as a lawyer in the 1950s...
, at his own expense, immediately traveled to Amsterdam to fight the case of Khan and filed a petition in an Amsterdam court. Zafar, teamed with Khan's old mentor professor Martin Brabers and his universities administration, where Zafar prepared for the case. At the trial, Zafar and Martin argued that the technical informations stole by Khan are commonly found and taught in graduate and doctoral courses at the university, therefore the evidences are not strong enough to jailed Khan. After series of hearing, the sentence was later overturned on appeal on a legal technicality
Legal technicality
The term legal technicality is a casual or colloquial phrase referring to a technical aspect of law. The phrase is not a term of art in the law; it has no exact meaning, nor does it have a legal definition. It implies that that strict adherence to the letter of the law has prevented the spirit of...
by Amsterdam Court. Khan, with Barrister Zafar, returned to Pakistan and explicitly gave interviews to Pakistan's mass media.
Khan rejected any suggestion that Pakistan had illicitly acquired nuclear expertise: "All the research work [at Kahuta] was the result of our innovation and struggle," he said in 1990. "We did not receive any technical know-how from abroad, but we cannot reject the use of books, magazines, and research papers in this connection."
U.S. objections
As the Pakistani Government continued to secretly develop the program, A.Q. Khan, on other side, continued to scrutinize the program. In an 1987 interview, he allegedly reported Pakistan's acquisition of a weapons development plan. Khan stated that U.S. intelligence reports have been received, and they are aware of Pakistan's possession of nuclear weapons and/or other harmful weapons with the potential to destroy masses. He also allegedly confirmed speculation from several newspapers internationally. The senior officials of the Pakistani Government denied all claims made by Khan, appointing a highly ranked General Zia-ul-Haq, to urge Khan to cease any information he'd been volunteering in statements, promising consequences if he continued to leak harmful information of the Pakistani Government. Following Khan's meeting with General Zia-ul-Hak, he contacted several foreign newspapers, denying any and all comments he had previously let slip. In October 1991, the Pakistani newpapter 'Dawn' reported that during a meeting of businessmen and industrialists in Karachi, Khan had repeated his earlier claims.In October 1990, KRL's activities led the U.S. to terminate economic and military aid to Pakistan, which led to a freeze in Pakistan's nuclear weapons development program. But in July 1996 Khan said, "at no stage was the program of producing nuclear weapons-grade enriched uranium ever stopped".
Expansion of network
In the 1980s, the international media reported that People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
negotiated with Pakistan for the sale of HEU fuel. During this time, General Zia-ul-Haq contracted with the Chinese regime to sell HEU fuel in exchange for (UF6)
Uranium hexafluoride
Uranium hexafluoride , referred to as "hex" in the nuclear industry, is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. It forms solid grey crystals at standard temperature and pressure , is highly toxic, reacts violently with water...
. Dr. A.Q. Khan, along with the Pakistan Navy
Pakistan Navy
The Pakistan Navy is the naval warfare/service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Pakistan's Navy is responsible for Pakistan's coastline along the Arabian Sea and the defense of important civilian harbors and military bases...
's Vice-Admiral, visited China to provide technical support to the Chinese nuclear weapons program. The KRL also aided China in building the centrifuge facility in Hanzhong province
Hanzhong
Hanzhong is a municipality in southwest Shaanxi Province, China, occupying a historically significant valley in the mountains between the Xi'an area, home to many Chinese capitals, and the fertile but isolated Sichuan Basin...
, roughly built in the same style as the original design of KRL. When it was reported, Chinese regime offered back the HEU fuel, but Pakistan refused, calling it a gift of gesture to China. However, after Khan was convicted in Amsterdam and later returned to country in 1986, he stopped his activities as General Zia-ul-Haq had formed a military unit to monitor Khan. Khan restarted his activities after the assassination of General Zia-ul-Haq in an aircraft crash.
North Korea and Iran
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, first established during the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's regime, a socialist democratic regime in Pakistan. In 1990, it was reported that the highly sensitive centrifuge technology was being exported to North Korea in exchange for missile technologies. Khan, along with Benazir Bhutto, paid a state visit to North Korea and downloaded secret information on uranium enrichment to give to North Korea in exchange for information on developing ballistic missiles. Khan again paid visit to North Korea with a senior army general to buy shoulder-launched missiles.
After General's death, Abdul Qadeer Khan tried to remove Munir Ahmad Khan as Chairman of PAEC as he wanted to became Chairman instead. However, because PAEC is an influential member of International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
(IAEA) and regular participating member of European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan , abbreviated as GIK, was the seventh President of Pakistan from August 17, 1988 until July 18, 1993 and a career statesman from the start to the end of cold war...
and Prime minister Benazir Bhutto denied Abdul Qadeer Khan's request. Khan then restarted his nuclear network, beginning with Iran. It emerged in August 2003, that Dr. Khan had offered to sell sensitive designs of centrifuge technology to Iran as early as 1989. Following the revelation, the Iranian government came under intense pressure from United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the European Union to fully disclose its nuclear program
Nuclear program of Iran
The nuclear program of Iran was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program. The support, encouragement and participation of the United States and Western European governments in Iran's nuclear program continued until the 1979 Iranian Revolution...
. In October 2003, Iran finally agreed to accept tougher inspections from the IAEA. The IAEA reported that Iran had established a large uranium enrichment facility using gas centrifuges based on the URENCO designs, which had been obtained "from a foreign intermediary in 1989". The intermediary was not named but many diplomats and analysts pointed to Khan, who was said to have visited Iran in 1989. The Iranians turned over the names of their suppliers and the international inspectors quickly identified the Iranian gas centrifuges as Pak-1s, the model that Khan developed in the early 1980s. In December 2003, two senior staff members at Khan Labs were arrested on suspicion of having sold centrifuge technology to the Iranians.
Iraq and Libya
In May of 1998, the NewsweekNewsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine alleged that Khan had sent designs of centrifuges to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, an allegation that he denied.United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
arms inspectors apparently discovered documents discussing Khan's purported offer in Iraq; Iraqi officials said the documents were authentic but that they had not agreed to work with Khan, fearing a sting operation. During this time, Iraq and Pakistan had strained relations
Iraq–Pakistan relations
Iraq and Pakistan established diplomatic relations in 1947. Iraq was the first Arab country to recognise Pakistan. Today Pakistan has an embassy in Baghdad while Iraq has an embassy in Islamabad. In 2003, prior to the outbreak of the second Gulf War, the government of Pakistan announced it was...
, and Iraq feared that an ISI sting operation might take place. During this time, Pakistan, through ISI, passed solid evidence to Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
, whose [Pakistan] scientists had helped in building the nuclear program in Libya. Also, Iraq had received a large amount of chemical stockpile from Dr. Carlos Cardoen, another weapon scientist and metallurgical engineer.
In 2003, the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and IAEA successfully dismantled the Libyan nuclear programme
Libya and nuclear technology
Libya possesses chemical weapons and ballistic missiles and previously pursued nuclear weapons under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi. On 19 December 2003, Gaddafi announced that Libya would voluntarily eliminate all materials, equipment and programs that could lead to internationally proscribed...
and convinced Libya to give up its nuclear weapons-related material, including the centrifuges that were acquired from Khan's nuclear "black market". Libyans turn over the names of its suppliers and A.Q. Khan was one of them.
The Bush administration investigated the centrifuge's nuclear proliferation in 2001 and 2002, focusing on Khan's personal role. In December 2002 it renewed its allegation that an unidentified agent, supposedly acting on Khan's behalf, had offered centrifuge expertise to Iraq in the mid-1990s. Khan strongly denied this allegation and the Pakistan Government declared the evidence to be "fraudulent". The United States had responded by imposing sanctions on KRL in the 1990s. However, after Pakistan's contribution
Pakistan's role in the War on Terror
Pakistan's role in the War on Terror was initiated by the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. These acts were a new manifestation of terrorism, which altogether changed the political psyche of the world...
against terrorism and as a key ally of United States in the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, the United States had removed the ban on KRL and technological cooperation between the United States and Pakistan.
Science Adviser
By the time the evidence against Khan had surfaced, Khan had became widely known in the country and held the most prestigious science tier, the Science Adviser to the President. Khan's open promotion of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles became something of an embarrassment to Pakistan's government, with the world becoming increasingly convinced that Khan had strengthened his network around the globe. In 2001, General Pervez Musharraf, then Chief of Army Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, was administrating the country as he assumed the executive powers when he depositionedDeposition (politics)
Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch. It may be done by coup, impeachment, invasion or forced abdication...
former Prime minister Navaz Sharif, in a successful coup d'état. In 2000, General Musharraf established the Nuclear Command Authority and brought down all of the nuclear research institutions under one chain of Command. In 2001, Khan was given retirement from KRL as Director-General, and General Musharraf appointed Khan to a prestigious post, the Science Adviser. While this was regarded as a promotion, it removed him from hands-on management and allowed the government to keep a closer eye on his activities. In 2002, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
began to provide evidence to the Pakistani Government on Khan's nuclear network. The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed "senior Pakistani Government officials" as conceding that Khan's dismissal from KRL had been prompted by the U.S. government's suspicions. On January 31, 2004, Khan was dismissed from his post and Pakistan Government launched full-fledged investigations on Khan to ostensibly "allow a fair investigation" of the allegations.
Debriefing
Although he was not arrested, Khan was summoned for a "debriefing" by joint officers from JAG BranchJudge Advocate General Branch
The Judge Advocate General Branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces is composed of Pakistan's Military senior officers, lawyers and judges who provide legal services to the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines at all levels of command...
, led by Rear-Admiral Ehsan Christi. In the early morning of 25 January 2004, Khan officially reported to JAG Branch's debriefing and the JAG Branch officers reported that Khan and Mohammed Farooq, a high-ranking manager at KRL, had provided unauthorized technical assistance to Iran in the late 1980s and early 1990s, allegedly in exchange for tens of millions of dollars. The Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
's former Chief of Army Staff General Mirza Aslam Beg was also implicated. The Wall Street Journal quoted U.S. government officials as saying that Khan had told the investigators that General Beg had authorized the transfers to Iran.
In December 2003, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
announced that it had agreed to abandon its undisclosed nuclear program. Libyan government officials were quoted as saying that Libya had bought nuclear components from various black market dealers, including Pakistan's. U.S. officials who visited the Libyan uranium enrichment plants reported that the gas centrifuges used there were very similar to the Iranian machines. The IAEA officials also visited the Libyan nuclear plant where they found models of Paksat-1. Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
arrested three Swiss nuclear scientists
Friedrich Tinner
Friedrich Tinner, also known as Fred Tinner; Born 1937, is a Swiss nuclear engineer and a long-associated friend of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan— Pakistan's former top scientist— and connected with the Khan nuclear network trafficking in the proliferation of nuclear materials and centrifuge designs to...
who were Khan's close associates.
Aftermath
The Pakistan government's blanket denials became untenable as evidence mounted of illicit nuclear weapons technology transfers.Debriefings revelation
The government investigated Khan's activities, arguing that if there had been wrongdoing, it had occurred without the government's knowledge or approval. Critics noted that virtually all of Khan's overseas travels, to Iran, Libya, North Korea, Niger, Mali, and the Middle East, were on PAFPakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
aircraft, secured by heavily armed No. 11 Squadron Arrows when taking a flight with Khan. Often, he was accompanied by senior members of Pakistan's nuclear establishment, both civil and military members. Due to Khan's importance, Khan never traveled in commercial jets but Khan was given a PAF
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
's Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
, which was usually flown by either highly professionally air force or naval fighter pilots. Khan was often protect by members of Joint Intelligence Technical (JIT) where clearance of visitors were often required.
The full scope of the Khan network is not fully known and remains classified. Centrifuge components were apparently manufactured in Malaysia
Scomi Precision Engineering nuclear scandal
Syarikat Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd was established under the Scomi group of companies controlled by Kamaluddin Abdullah, a businessman who is the son of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi...
with the aid of South Asian and German middlemen, and used a Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
computer company as a false front. In Malaysia, Khan was helped by Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
-born Buhary Sayed Abu Tahir, who shuttled between Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
and Dubai to arrange for the manufacture of centrifuge components by a Malaysian company
Scomi Precision Engineering nuclear scandal
Syarikat Scomi Precision Engineering Sdn Bhd was established under the Scomi group of companies controlled by Kamaluddin Abdullah, a businessman who is the son of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi...
. Khan Research Laboratories
Khan Research Laboratories
The Khan Research Laboratories ,, formerly known as Engineering Research Laboratories , is a multi-program Pakistan's weapons science and engineering research and development institute and nuclear research facility...
is said to have entered into an agreement with Malaysian businessman Shah Hakim Zain
Shah Hakim Zain
Shah Hakim @ Shahzanim bin Zain is Chief Executive Officer and controlling shareholder of the Malaysian public company Scomi Group Bhd.-Background, early corporate years:...
to export conventional weapons to Malaysia.
The Khan investigation also revealed how many European companies were defying export restrictions and aiding the Khan network. Dutch companies exported thousands of centrifuges to Pakistan as early as 1976, and a German company exported facilities for the production of tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
(for hydrogen bombs) to the country.
The investigation exposed Israeli businessman turned engineer Asher Karni
Asher Karni
Asher Karni is an Hungarian-born Israeli citizen and South African businessman. He is, perhaps, best known for his financial involvement and support for both the Pakistan and Israeli nuclear programs...
as having sold component of centrifugal devices to Khan's associates and its roots were also found in aiding Israeli nuclear program as well. Karni was the source providing electronic materials to Israeli nuclear programme to Pakistan's nuclear development. Tahir was arrested in Malaysia in May 2004 under a Malaysian law allowing for the detention of individuals posing a security threat.
In September 2005, Musharraf revealed that after two years of questioning Khan — which the Pakistan government insisted on doing itself without outside intervention — that they had confirmed that Khan had supplied centrifuge parts to North Korea.
Confession
In early February 2004, the Government of Pakistan reported that Khan had signed a confession indicating that he had provided Iran, Libya, and North Korea with designs and centrifuge technology to aid in nuclear weapons programs, and said that the government had not been complicit in the proliferation activities. The Pakistan Government officials who made the announcement said that Khan had admitted to transferring centrifuge technology and information to Iran between 1989 and 1991, to North Korea and Libya between 1991 and 1997 (U.S. officials at the time maintained that transfers had continued with Libya until 2003), and additional technology to North Korea up until 2000. On 4 February 2004, Khan appeared on state's controlled Pakistan TelevisionPakistan Television Corporation
The Pakistan Television Corporation is Pakistan's national television broadcaster. The first live transmission of PTV began on November 26, 1964, in Lahore...
(PTV) and confessed to running a proliferation ring where his confession was on-aired by Pakistan's state and private television stations all over the country.
Pardon and reaction
On 5 February 2004, the day after Khan's televised confession, President Musharraf pardoned him as he feared an extreme reaction would be built if he's not pardoned. However, Musharraf wanted to avoid his regime from international pressure, particularly the U.S.United State
United State may refer to:* Union of Russia and Belarus, sometimes called the United State * United States* United State of Electronica, the Seattle dance/rock band...
pressure. Therefore, Khan was remained kept under continuous debriefings.
The debriefing of Khan became one of the most high-profile and highlighted news in Pakistan, with Pakistan media
Media of Pakistan
Media in Pakistan provides information on television, radio, cinema, newspapers, and magazines in Pakistan.-Regulation:The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority was formed in 2002 to "facilitate and promote a free, fair and independent electronic media", including opening the broadcasting...
aired talk shows and documentaries to sympathize with Khan. The Islamist front
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal is a coalition of Islamist parties that was formed in 2002 to electorally challenge the Pakistan Parliament's incumbent parties...
and conservative parties
Pakistan Muslim League
The Pakistan Muslim League was founded in 1962, as a successor to the previously disbanded Muslim League in Pakistan. Unlike the original PML which ended in 1958 when General Ayub Khan banned all political parties, each subsequent Muslim League was in some way propped by the military dictators of...
came in support for Khan where they held demonstration throughout the country. General Musharraf's long standing ally, the MQM
Muttahida Qaumi Movement
Muttahida Qaumi Movement generally known as MQM, is a liberal-secular political party of Pakistan. It is generally known as a party which holds immense mobilizing potential in province of Sindh...
, the Urdu-speaking
Muhajir people
Muhajir [literally – migrants] is a term commonly used especially by Pakistanis to describe the Muslim immigrants who chose to settle in Pakistan and shifted their domicile after partition of British India into Pakistan and India. Some had participated in the movement for creation of Pakistan in...
and largest liberal-secular party, publicly came in support for Khan. Abdul Qadeer Khan, an ethnic muhajir
Muhajir people
Muhajir [literally – migrants] is a term commonly used especially by Pakistanis to describe the Muslim immigrants who chose to settle in Pakistan and shifted their domicile after partition of British India into Pakistan and India. Some had participated in the movement for creation of Pakistan in...
from India, received a tremendous amount of political and moral support from MQM as its parliamentarians gathering support for Khan. MQM threatened General Musharraf to leave the government if Khan's case is mistreated or even jailed in infamous Adiala Jail. The recent development in Pakistan got United States worried as the American Ambassador to Pakistan
United States Ambassador to Pakistan
The U.S. embassy in Karachi was established August 15, 1947 with Edward W. Holmes as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim, pending the appointment of an ambassador. The first ambassador, Paul H. Alling, was appointed on September 20, 1947. Anne W. Patterson was nominated as United States Ambassador to...
Ryan Crocker sent an observed report on Khan's reaction in Pakistan. The United States feared a political turmoil, roughly equivalent to Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
, and loss of General Musharraf as an ally in War against terrorism. Therefore, the United States imposed no sanctions
International sanctions
International sanctions are actions taken by countries against others for political reasons, either unilaterally or multilaterally.There are several types of sanctions....
following the confession and pardon. The U.S. officials said that in the War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, it was not their goal to denounce or imprison people but "to get results." Sanctions on Pakistan or demands for an independent investigation of the Pakistan Armed Forces might have led to restrictions on or the loss of use of Pakistan Armed Forces bases needed by United States and NATO troops in Afghanistan. "It's just another case where you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar," a U.S. government official explained.
The U.S. also refrained from applying further direct pressure on Pakistan to disclose more about Khan's activities due to a strategic calculation that such pressure might topple President Musharraf. In a speech to the National Defense University
National Defense University
The National Defense University is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level training, education, and the development of national security strategy. It is chartered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Navy Vice Admiral...
on 11 February 2004, President Bush proposed to reform the IAEA: "No state, under investigation for proliferation violations, should be allowed to serve on the IAEA Board of Governors—or on the new special committee. And any state currently on the Board that comes under investigation should be suspended from the Board. The integrity and mission of the IAEA depends on this simple principle: Those actively breaking the rules should not be entrusted with enforcing the rules." The Bush proposal was seen as targeted against Pakistan which, then served on the Board of Governors. It has not received attention from other governments.
Image
Following his confession, Khan became a major international symbol of proliferation. In February 2005, he was featured on the front cover of Time magazine as the "Merchant of Menace", labeled "the world's most dangerous nuclear trafficker," and in November 2005, the Atlantic Monthly ran "The Wrath of Khan", featured a picture of a mushroom cloud behind Khan's head on the cover.A notorious image in West, Abdul Qadeer Khan remained extremely popular in Pakistan and saw as national hero of Pakistan. Science in Pakistan served as Pakistan's extreme national pride, and Khan's long association with science bought Khan a tremendous popularity. Khan's downfall affected the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf, as he was called the "Pro-American Leader". Freelance people in Pakistan openly blamed the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for Khan's house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. Journalists and the mainstream media came to support Khan and expressed their sympathies to him.
Opposition parties in Pakistan as well as coalition parties supported Khan. The MQM provided its tremendous political and moral support to Khan and calling Khan as its own blood. Its senior leader and parliamentarians, most notably dr. Färouq Sätar
Farooq Sattar
Farooq Sattar Pirwani is a politician from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Farooq Sattar is Deputy Convener and Parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement , a political party in Pakistan. He has also served as Provincial Minister in the Sindh Cabinet for Local Bodies and is one of the senior...
and Babar Ghaüri
Babar Khan Ghauri
Babar Khan Ghauri is a politician from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Babar Khan Ghauri is former Minister for Ports and Shipping in Ministry of Ports and Shipping in Pakistan. Senator Babar Khan Ghauri is also elected member of Senate of Pakistan.-Wealth:...
continued Khan's support from the beginning as they influenced the government to release Khan at a shortest time possible. Former Minister for Religious Affairs
Ministry of Religious Affairs (Pakistan)
The Ministry of Religious Affairs, Zakat, and Ushr in Pakistan is responsible for the pilgrimage beyond Pakistan, Muslims pilgrims visits to India for Ziarat and Saudi Arabia for Umra & Hajj. It is also responsible for the welfare and safety of pilgrims and zairines...
Ejaz-ul-Haq
Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq
Ch Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq is a prominent Pakistani politician and a businessman who served as a Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Minorities under the Government of Prime minister Shaukat Aziz. A former Pakistan Army officer, Haq joined the Pakistan Army in 1971, as second lieutnenat, but...
held a public press conference in May 2007 to express his support for Khan. Aseff Ahmad Ali, Education minister, also supported Abdul Qadeer Khan where Khan remained highly popular in ruling Pakistan Peoples Party
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...
(PPP).
End of debriefings
The debriefings were suspended when General Ashfaq Parvez KayaniAshfaq Parvez Kayani
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, NI, HI is a four-star general in the Pakistan Army, and the current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. He replaced General Pervez Musharraf as the Chief of Army Staff and the commandant of the army on November 29, 2007...
became the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army in 2007. In a meeting held by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Secretariat
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Pakistan
The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee , is a military administrative body of high-ranking and senior uniformed military leaders and officers in the Pakistan Defense Forces who advises the civilian Government of Pakistan, National Security Council, and Defence Minister on important military matters...
, senior joint military leaders and officers unanimously voted for the termination of Khan's debriefings. Prompting, General Tärikue Majid, then-newly appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, officially terminated the military debriefings of Khan on August 14, 2008. Khan was never charged with espionage activities nor were criminal charges pressed against Khan. The debriefings were only taken place to learn and dismantle Khan's network, which it did successfully. However, the debriefings were ended quickly and wrapped up quietly following the fall of Military regime
Movement to impeach Pervez Musharraf
The movement to impeach Pervez Musharraf was an August 2008 attempt by the Pakistan Peoples Party , the Pakistan Muslim League , Awami National Party , and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam to force Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf out of office....
of General Pervez Musharraf. However, the details of such knowledge remain classified and hidden. A complicating factor is that few believe that Khan acted alone and the affair risks gravely damaging the Armed Forces, which oversaw and controlled the nuclear weapons development and of which Musharraf was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, until his resignation from military service on 28 November 2007.
Khan was still under the house-arrest even the new democratic government of Yousaf Raza Gillani
Yousaf Raza Gillani
Yousuf Raza Gilani is the current prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He was nominated as Prime Minister by the PPP, with the support of its coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League , Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, on 22 March 2008...
was in effect. Therefore Khan turned to Islamabad High Court
Islamabad High Court
-History:Islamabad High Court located in Islamabad the capital of Pakistan was established under a presidential order on December 14, 2007. However its creation was delayed because of the stay order issued by the Lahore High Court after its establishment was challenged there. But Supreme Court of...
for his final release, and filed a petition. After attending several hearings, the Islamabad High Court
Islamabad High Court
-History:Islamabad High Court located in Islamabad the capital of Pakistan was established under a presidential order on December 14, 2007. However its creation was delayed because of the stay order issued by the Lahore High Court after its establishment was challenged there. But Supreme Court of...
ordered the government to release Khan on immediate effects. In 2009, Gillani government terminated house-arrest orders and uplifted the sanctions imposed on Khan previously by General Musharraf government. Hence, Khan was released by Islamabad High Court and the Gillani government pressed no criminal charges which were ever pressed on against him.
Calls from IAEA
Since 2005, and particularly in 2006, there have been renewed calls by IAEA officials, senior U.S. congressmen, European Commission politicians, and others to make Khan available for interrogation by IAEA investigators, given lingering skepticism about the disclosures made by Pakistan regarding Khan's activities. In the U.S., these calls have been made by elected U.S. lawmakers rather than by the U.S. Department of State, though some interpreted them as signaling growing international discontent with the Musharraf regime.In May 2006, the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation held a hearing titled, "The A.Q. Khan Network: Case Closed?" Legislators and experts demanded that Pakistan turn Khan over to the U.S. and further Pakistan efforts to curb proliferation. When the news reached to Pakistan, Chairman of Senate Secretariat M.M. Suomrow called a meeting to observed and discuss the U.S. demands. In June 2006, a Pakistan Senate
Senate of Pakistan
The Senate of Pakistan is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. Elections are held every three years for one half of the senate and each senator has a term of six years...
subcommittee issued a unanimous resolution criticizing the U.S. committee, stating that Pakistan would not turn Khan over to U.S. authorities at any given cost.
In February 2009, two senior government officials announced that restrictions on Khan had been removed, allowing him to meet friends and relatives either at his home or elsewhere in Pakistan. The officials said that a security detail continued to observe his movements.
Armed Forces proliferation involvement
In December 2006, the Swedish Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (SWMDC) headed by Hans BlixHans Blix
is a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party. He was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs . Blix was also the head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission from March 2000 to June 2003, when he was succeeded by Dimitris Perrikos...
, a former IAEA chief and United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) chief; said in a report that Khan could not have acted alone "without the awareness of the Pakistani Government". According to Indian commentator Kuldip Nayar, Khan did not acted alone and the ISI, the Army, and even Bhutto knew what Khan was doing. It was Bhutto who provided his full government support even when ISI rejected him as incompetent scientist.
On 4 July 2008, in an interview, Khan blamed President Musharraf and the Army for the transfer of nuclear technology, claiming that Musharraf was aware of all the deals and he was the "Big Boss" for those deals.
Khan said that Pakistan gave centrifuges to North Korea in a 2000 shipment supervised by the army. The equipment was sent in a North Korean plane loaded under the supervision of Pakistani security officials. He also said that he had traveled to North Korea in 1999 with a Pakistani Army general to buy shoulder-launched missiles. Asked why he had taken sole responsibility for proliferation, Khan said friends, including a central figure in the ruling party at the time, had persuaded him that it was in the national interest. In return he had been promised complete freedom.
Khan wrote to journalist Simon Henderson on 10 December 2003, saying that he was acting precisely under the orders of the Pakistani government when he sold weapon designs to North Korea, Iran and Libya. Khan also says that Pakistan built a centrifuge plant for China in Hanzhong province, in exchange for enriched uranium.
Nuclear weapons expert David Albright
David Albright
David Albright, M.S., is the founder of the non-governmental Institute for Science and International Security , its current president, and author of several books on proliferation of atomic weapons. Albright holds a Master of Science in physics from Indiana University and a M.Sc. in mathematics...
of the ISIS
Institute for Science and International Security
The Institute for Science and International Security is a non-profit institution founded in 1993 to inform "the public about science and policy issues affecting international security"...
agrees that Khan's activities were government-sanctioned. Leading experts, both within the country and abroad, believe that Khan was made scapegoat by Musharraf in order to save himself when General Musharraf allegedly authorized the illegal transfers of sensitive centrifuges to North-Korea through Khan in 1999. A larger and clearer investigation would be also opened the names of the high military officers, such as Admiral Sirohey
Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey
Admiral Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey, NI, SBt, HI, , is a now-retired and senior four-star admiral who was the 10th Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan Navy from 1986 to 1988...
and General Mirza Beg, whom Musharraf served under. On political effect, investigations might also exposed senior statesman and politicians, such as Benazir Bhutto, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Aftab Kazi and many others who were allegedly claimed to be involved or either encouraged Khan to proliferate the technology for their own benefits.
Space program
Since 1980s, Abdul Qadeer Khan, along with Munir Ahmad Khan, remained a vital and one of the administrative science figure in Pakistan's Integrated space weapons programme. During 1980s, Khan sought to re-organize and revitalize the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research CommissionSpace and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission , is an executive agency of the Government of Pakistan, responsible for nation's public and civil space program and aeronautics and aerospace research...
(Suparco) — country's top national space authority. Khan remained a strong vocalist especially in the Suparco-proposed space projects. Khan followed Munir Ahmad Khan's footsteps and participated in Suparco's development of Hatf-I programme as project's senior scientist. Since 1996, Khan was increasingly involved in Pakistan's first Satellite Launch Vehicle
Satellite Launch Vehicle
The Indian Satellite Launch Vehicle or SLV was a project started in the early 1970s by Indian Space Research Organisation to develop the technology needed to launch satellites. The project was headed by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. SLV was intended to reach a height of 400 km and carry a payload of...
(SLV) project as he supervised the development of Ghauri-I
Ghauri (missile)
The Hatf V, named Ghauri , is a medium-range ballistic missile developed by Kahuta Research Laboratories of Pakistan. Powered by a single stage liquid fuel rocket motor, the missile has an optimum range of 1,500 km and can carry a payload of 700 kg...
. And in March 2001, Khan announced that Pakistani scientists were in the process of building the country's first Satellite Launch Vehicle
Satellite Launch Vehicle
The Indian Satellite Launch Vehicle or SLV was a project started in the early 1970s by Indian Space Research Organisation to develop the technology needed to launch satellites. The project was headed by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. SLV was intended to reach a height of 400 km and carry a payload of...
(SLV) and that the project had been assigned to [Suparco, which also built the Badr-I. Khan also cited the fact that India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
had made rapid strides in the fields of SLV and satellite manufacture as another motivation for developing an indigenous launch capabilities.
One of the premium project was when Khan led and served as the technical director of Suparco's scientists on the development and construction of Pakistan's first indigenous constructed launch facility and space port, Tilla Space Center where the Ghauri-I successfully took its first space flight. As metallurgist, Khan remained director of Suparco's Metallurgical Laboratories and educational facilities. In 1999, Khan briefed General Pervez Mushrraf describing his self-designed Low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
(LEO) and suggested that Pakistan should launch a satellite from its own launch centers. But Musharraf did not grant him permission. He was highly disappointed and wrote about it in his column. On 10 December 2001, Pakistan launched its second Low Earth orbit
Low Earth orbit
A low Earth orbit is generally defined as an orbit within the locus extending from the Earth’s surface up to an altitude of 2,000 km...
(LEO) satellite instead from Baikonur Cosmodrome
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The Baikonur Cosmodrome , also called Tyuratam, is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 meters above sea level...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
aboard a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Zenit-2
Zenit-2
The Zenit-2 is a Ukrainian, previously Soviet, expendable carrier rocket. First flown in 1985, it has been launched 37 times, with six failures. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets, and was designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau. A modified version, the Zenit-2S, is used as the first two...
.
Pundit
On 12 November 2008, he started writing weekly columns in The News InternationalThe News International
The News International , published in tabloid size, is the largest English language newspaper in Pakistan. The News has an ABC certified circulation of 140,000. It is published from Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad...
and Daily Jang
Daily Jang
The Daily Jang is an Urdu newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the oldest newspaper of Pakistan in continuous publication since its foundation in 1939. Its current Group Chief Executive & Editor-in-Chief is Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman....
.
Academia
Since his return to his homeland, Abdul Qadeer Khan elevated to became as country's top scientist and involved in country's scientific programmes for more than two decades. Science in Pakistan served as an extreme national pride, national identities and state honors are bestowed to both junior and senior scientists each year. His long association with science in Pakistan has brought Khan a great laurels and an extreme popularity in Pakistan. Khan secured the fellowship of Pakistan Academy of SciencesPakistan Academy of Sciences
The Pakistan Academy of Sciences The Pakistan Academy of Sciences The Pakistan Academy of Sciences (Urdu: پاکستان اكيڈ مى ﺁف سائس; shortened to PAS, is a learned society for science and technology based in Pakistan. The academy consisted and served as the network of science across the Pakistan as...
, whose fellowship is highly restricted to scientists. Through Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Khan published two books on metallurgy and material science. Khan began to published his articles from KRL in 1980s, and began to organize conferences on Metallurgy by inviting materiel scientists from all over the world. Gopal S. Upadhyaya, an Indian nuclear scientist and metallurgist as well, attended Khan's conference in 1980s and personally met him along with Kuldip Nayar
Kuldip Nayar
Kuldip Nayar is a veteran Indian journalist and syndicated columnist, noted for his long career as a left-wing political commentator.-Early life and education:Nayar was born at Sialkot, Punjab, British India on 14 August 1923....
. In Upadhyaya's words, Khan was a proud Pakistani who wanted to show the world that he and scientists from Pakistan are no inferior to any one in the world.
While in Technical University of Berlin , Khan briefly taught courses on Thermodynamic and Metallurgy under supervision of prof. Jongenburger as his assistant. At, Catholic University of Leuven, Khan worked and researched under dr. Stark and also taught courses on Calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
and Differential geometry under his guidance. In Pakistan, Khan went onto established institutes and universities in his country and organizing the scientific organizations throughout the country. One of his notable contribution at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology
-See also:* List of universities in Pakistan* GIKI clock tower* Project topi-External links:* * * * *...
where he served as the Project-Director of this university. Khan went to served as one of the executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
of the Board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology. After the construction of institute was completed, Khan became senior Professor of Metallurgical Engineering while also served as the Chairman of Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science and Engineering of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology. At there, Khan also taught advanced course on vector and Multivariable calculus
Multivariable calculus
Multivariable calculus is the extension of calculus in one variable to calculus in more than one variable: the differentiated and integrated functions involve multiple variables, rather than just one....
and continued teaching and instructing courses on material science and engineering.
Later, Khan helped established the Dr. A. Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering at the Karachi University.
After the ending of Khan's debriefings, Khan is serving as senior research associate at the Pakistan Academy of Sciences where he continued to published papers on metallurgy. On recent, Khan was one of the academic who opposed the dissolution of Higher Education Commission under the Eighteenth Amendment
Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan
Amendment XVIII of the Constitution of Pakistan, was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on April 8, 2010, removing the power of the President of Pakistan to dissolve the Parliament unilaterally, turning Pakistan from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic, and renaming...
to the Constitution of Pakistan
Constitution of Pakistan
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the supreme law of Pakistan. Known as the Constitution of 1973, it was drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and, following additions by the opposition parties, was approved by the legislative assembly on April 10, 1973...
.
Cancer
On 22 August 2006, the Pakistani government announced that Khan was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. On 9 September 2006, Khan had surgery at Aga Khan hospital, in KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. According to doctors, the operation was successful, but on 30 October it was reported that his condition had deteriorated and he was suffering from deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein. Deep vein thrombosis commonly affects the leg veins or the deep veins of the pelvis. Occasionally the veins of the arm are affected...
.
Hospitalization
On 5 March 2008, Khan was admitted to an IslamabadIslamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
hospital with low blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
and fever, reportedly due to an infection. He was released four days later.
Legacy
Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan is no longer associated with Pakistan's nuclear weapons development since 2001 when he was removed as Director-General of Kahuta Research Laboratories. Though Khan is now living a quiet life and dedicated himself to the promotion of science in his country. Khan maintains his stance to use of controversial technological solutions to both military and civilian problems, including the use of military technologies for the civilian welfare. Khan also remained a vigorous advocate for Pakistan's nuclear deterrence development as sparing his country the fate of Iraq or Libya. In his own words, Khan arugued that "had Iraq and Libya been nuclear powers, they wouldn't have been destroyed in the way we have seen recently".Criticism
Despite his extreme popularity, Khan is roundly criticized for being an opportunist and, also criticized for taking the credits of other scientists. Due to common public misconception and his extreme public popularity, Western, AmericanNewspapers in the United States
Newspapers have declined in their influence and penetration into American households over the years. The closest thing to a national paper the U.S. has is USA Today, which along with the influential dailies the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal are sold in most U.S...
, and Pakistan's Media
Media of Pakistan
Media in Pakistan provides information on television, radio, cinema, newspapers, and magazines in Pakistan.-Regulation:The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority was formed in 2002 to "facilitate and promote a free, fair and independent electronic media", including opening the broadcasting...
have always portraited Abdul Qadeer Khan as "Father of nuclear detterence development". In fact, Abdul Qadeer Khan was the technical director of only one HEU based Gas-centrifuge
Zippe-type centrifuge
The Zippe-type centrifuge is a device designed to collect Uranium-235. It was developed in the Soviet Union by a team of 60 Austrian and German scientists captured after World War II, working in detention...
project, which was one part of Pakistan's uranium enrichment programme. Throughout his active role, Abdul Qadeer Khan's popularity overshadowed Zulifikar Ali Bhutto who gave birth to this programme, and Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
who was the driving force of leading the projects in the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear deterrence program. From the start of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, nuclear development was under the supervision of its designated technical director and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan
Munir Ahmad Khan , HI, was a Pakistani nuclear engineer and a scientist who served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission from 1972 to 1991...
, with contributions of other scientists, such as Abdus Salam
Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
, Riazuddin, Asghar Qadir, Dr. Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand
Samar Mubarakmand , , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, who served as the founding chairman of National Engineering and Scientific Commission from 2001 till 2007. Samar Mubarak-Mand launched the Missile Integration Programme in 1987 which was successfully completed in 2005...
, Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad
Ishfaq Ahmad , D.Sc., Minister of State, SI, HI, NI, FPAS, is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, and well-known educationist and academic from Pakistan...
and several others. The nuclear development was exercised under the administrative leadership of Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who gave birth and initiated, administrated, and orchestrated this programme.
The proliferation activities caused Pakistan an international embarrassment, and seriously undermined Pakistan's efforts to use atoms for peaceful and economical reasons. Abdul Qadeer Khan came under intense criticism by his peers, such as Pervez Hoodbhoy
Pervez Hoodbhoy
Dr. Prof. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and political-defence analyst. He is the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University . He graduated and also received PhD from MIT and continues to...
, a prominent nuclear physicist, over his involvement in nuclear proliferation. Hoodbhoy heavily criticized the American (including David Albright
David Albright
David Albright, M.S., is the founder of the non-governmental Institute for Science and International Security , its current president, and author of several books on proliferation of atomic weapons. Albright holds a Master of Science in physics from Indiana University and a M.Sc. in mathematics...
), European, and the Pakistani media, for responsible for certain popular misconceptions about A.Q. Khan's role in the scientific research that was started by Munir Ahmad Khan and Abdus Salam in January 1972. In 1999, in an editorial essay written at Chowk.com
Chowk.com
Chowk is a progressive website with a focus on the current affairs, politics and cultural aspects of India and Pakistan. Its stated goal is to provoke readers go beyond soundbites and uncover the truth, however uncomfortable...
, Hoodbhoy wrote:
"Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the pre-eminent architect of nuclear deterrence program, is often called a nuclear physicistNuclear physicsNuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
when, in fact, his degrees and professional accomplishments belong to the field of metallurgyMetallurgyMetallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
, which is an engineering discipline rather than physics. When Dr. Khan visited the physics department of Quaid-e-Azam University about two months ago, he endeared himself even more to his admirers by wistfully saying he wished he could come someday to this university to study physics".
Honors and recognitions
Because of Abdul Qadeer Khan's open public promotion by the Pakistan media, Khan remained one of the most known scientist in the country. His active role in science, during the last two decades, in the nuclear development; Abdul Qadeer Khan came to known, both nationally and internationally as the country's top nuclear physicist, in spite of his academic (metallurgical) engineering discipline. Abdul Qadeer Khan has received more than 60 Gold medalGold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
across the countries universities and colleges. On 14 August 1989, Abdul Qadeer Khan, along with his counterpart Munir Ahmad Khan, was honored by the Government of Pakistan after he was awarded the second
Civil decorations of Pakistan
The Pakistan Civil Awards were established on March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent Republic on March 23, 1956. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on Independence Day, August 14, and their investiture takes place on the following...
highest civil award, "Hilal-e-Imtiaz" by the former Prime minister Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
in a public ceremony. In 14 August 1996, Abdul Qadeer Khan was awarded the highest
Civil decorations of Pakistan
The Pakistan Civil Awards were established on March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent Republic on March 23, 1956. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on Independence Day, August 14, and their investiture takes place on the following...
civilian award "Nishan-e-Imtiaz" by former Prime minister Nawaz Sharif. On 12 March 1999, Abdul Qadeer Khan was again awarded and honored the highest civilian award "Nishan-e-Imtiaz" from President Justice (retired) Rafique Tarar
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
Judge Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was the ninth President of Pakistan from January 1, 1998 until June 20, 2001 and before that Supreme Court of Pakistan judge and Chief Justice of Lahore High Court....
. With receiving the Nishane-e-Imtiaz for the second time, Abdul Qadeer Khan remains the only Pakistani citizen who has been twice honored and awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, to date.
Honorary degrees
Khan has been conferred with various of honorary Doctorate of Sciences (D.Sc.) from all over the universities in Pakistan. A list of universities are listed below that have conferred Abdul Qadeer Khan with honorary doctorate degree:- University of KarachiUniversity of KarachiThe University of Karachi is a public university located in Karachi, Pakistan. It serves an on-campus student population of more than 24,000. According to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, it is ranked among the top three universities of the country...
- Baqai Medical UniversityBaqai Medical UniversityBaqai Medical University was founded in 1988 on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan and is ranked no.3 in the HEC rankings for medical universities in Pakistan...
- Hamdard UniversityHamdard UniversityHamdard University is a private institution of higher education in Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan. The university was founded in 1991 by Hakim Said of the Hamdard Foundation. Hamdard University has the largest campus of any private university in Pakistan, covering...
- Gomal UniversityGomal UniversityGomal University is located in Dera Ismail Khan in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the founder of the university, laying the foundation store on May 1, 1974...
- Lahore University of Engineering and Technology
- Sir Syed University of Engineering and TechnologySir Syed University of Engineering and TechnologySir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, or SSUET, is a private sector engineering university located in Karachi, Pakistan. It was named after the 19th-century Muslim education reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology was founded by the current...
Even after his confession, Abdul Qadeer Khan remains widely popular among Pakistani civil society and he is considered domestically to be one of its most-influential and respected scientists. In an interview with Pakistani political analyst Hamid Mir
Hamid Mir
Hamid Mir is a Pakistani journalist and editor. He is also a news anchor, terrorism expert, and security analyst who regularly participates in international conferences. He is also known for his columns in Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, and English newspapers and hosts a popular political talk show on Geo...
, Dr. Salim Farookhi described Khan as, "the most influential and talented scientist that Pakistan has produced."
Fellowships/memberships
- Islamic Academy of Sciences
- Kazakh National Academy of Sciences
- Pakistan Institute of Metallurgical Engineers
- Pakistan Institute of Engineers
- Institute of Central and West Asian Studies
- Chartered Engineer and Member, The institute of Materials, London
- Member of American Society of Metals (ASM)
- The Metallurgical Society of the American Institute of Met. Min. and Petr. Engineers (TMS)
- Canadian Institute of Metals (CIM)
- Japan Institute of Metals (JIM)
Selected research papers and patents
- "Topics in Physical Metallurgy" - The Burgers Festschrift - Edited by A.Q. Khan and M.J. Brabers, Elsevier F]Publishing Co., Amsterdam, August 1972. (contains ca. 35 articles & 460 pages).
- Stress-induced phase transformations and enhanced plasticity in Cu-Al and Cu-Al-Zn martensites, J. Materials Science, December 1972, with G.V.D. Perre and L. Delaey.
- `Topics in Physical Metallurgy' (Eds. A.Q. Khan and M.J. Brabers)., Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1972.
- Dynamic recovery and recrystallization in iron-containing aluminium bronzes, Transformations Japan Institute of Metals, Volume 15, No. 2 (March 1974).
- Creating a complete metallurgical engineer, Metals and Materials, April 1974.
- An-X-ray diffraction study of stacking sequences, stacking faults and distortions in copper-based martensites - Application to Ci-Al and Cu-Al-Zn martensites, J. Applied Cryst., published with G.V.d. Perre, L. Delaey. H. Tas, W. Vandermeulen & A. Deruyttere, (1974).
- . The Hall-Petch relationship in copper-based martensites, Materials Science & Engineering, vol.15, (1974), with M.J. Brabers and L. Delaey, pp. 263–274.
- . The spread of Nuclear Weapons among nations: Militarization or Development, pp. 417–430. (Ref. Nuclear War Nuclear Proliferation and their consequences "Proceedings of the Vth International Colloquium organised by the Group De Bellerive Geneva 27–29 June 1985, Edited by: Sadruddin Aga Khan, Published by Clarendon Press-Oxford 1986).
- Microstructural changes during Retrogression and reaging in AA-7075 - A TEM study, Proceedings, Aluminium Technology `86, Section B, Institute of Metals (1986).
- Chromium Determination in Steel using atomic Absorption spectrophotometer? problems and their remedies, Pak Steel Journal, Vol 26, Jan-Mar. 1986.
- Flow Induced Vibrations in Gas Tube Assembly of Centrifuges, Journal of Nuclear Science and technology, 23(9), (Sept. 1986), pp. 819–827.
- Dilation investigation of a ® g transformation in 18% Ni maraging steels, Proceedings of The International Conf. on Martensitie Transformations (1986), The Japan Institute of Metals, pp. 560–565.
- Electrical and magnetic properties of double-aged 18% nickel maraging steels, Proceedings of The International Conf. on Martensitie Transformations (1986), The Japan Institute of Metals, pp. 572–577.
- Physical and mechanical properties of ultra-high strength 18% nickel maraging steel, vol.28, (Jul-Sept./Oct-Dec. 1986). Pakistan Steel Journal, pp. 87–90.
- Some remarks on the hardness and yield strength of aluminum alloy 7075 as a function of retrogression time, vol. 18-A,, Feb. 1987, Metallurgical Transactions, pp. 350–354.
- Hot stage electron microscopy of rapidly solidified Cu-Al-Ni ß-phase alloys, Proc. 2nd Beijing Conf. and Exhib. on Instrum. Analysis, 1987.
See also
- Pakistan and weapons of mass destructionPakistan and weapons of mass destructionPakistan began focusing on nuclear weapons development in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who delegated the program to the Chairman of PAEC Munir Ahmad Khan...
- Nuclear proliferationNuclear proliferationNuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
- Nuclear program of IranNuclear program of IranThe nuclear program of Iran was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program. The support, encouragement and participation of the United States and Western European governments in Iran's nuclear program continued until the 1979 Iranian Revolution...
- Friedrich TinnerFriedrich TinnerFriedrich Tinner, also known as Fred Tinner; Born 1937, is a Swiss nuclear engineer and a long-associated friend of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan— Pakistan's former top scientist— and connected with the Khan nuclear network trafficking in the proliferation of nuclear materials and centrifuge designs to...
- Asher KarniAsher KarniAsher Karni is an Hungarian-born Israeli citizen and South African businessman. He is, perhaps, best known for his financial involvement and support for both the Pakistan and Israeli nuclear programs...
- Mohammad Qadir HussainMohammad Qadir HussainDr. Mohammad Qadir Hussain is a Pakistani nuclear physicist who specialized in High-energy nuclear physics and nuclear reactor physics. He is the former employee of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission who has claimed that the process using by PAEC to enrich uranium was developed and discovered...
- Iran–Pakistan relations
- North Korea – Pakistan relations
- Project-706Project-706Project-706, also known as Project-726 or as the Kahuta Project, was a science effort codename of a project conducted during the Cold War and Russo-Afghan War whose objective was to develop Pakistan' first atomic weapon. The mainstream goal of the project was the development of an atomic bomb using...
External links
- Annotated bibliography for AQ Khan from the Alsos Digital Library on Nuclear Issues
- Abdul Qadeer Khan
Articles
- Reporter Adrian Levy on How the United States Secretly Helped Pakistan Build Its Nuclear Arsenal
- "Kahuta - Pakistan Special Weapons Facilities", Federation of American ScientistsFederation of American ScientistsThe Federation of American Scientists is a nonpartisan, 501 organization intent on using science and scientific analysis to attempt make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1945 by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the first atomic bombs...
. - Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan Urdu Columns Collection Online
Online Books
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