Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan
Nationality Pakistani
URENCO Group
Khan Research Laboratories (KRL)
Institutions
Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences
and Technology (GIKI)
Karachi University
Alma mater Catholic University of Leuven
Delft University of Technology
Doctoral advisor Martin Brabers [1]
Hilal-i-Imtiaz (14-8-1989)
Notable awards
Nishan-i-Imtiaz (14-8-1996 and 23-3-1999)
Abdul Qadeer Khan, HI, NI (twice); born April 27, 1936), known as A. Q. Khan, is a Pakistani
nuclear scientist and metallurgical engineer, widely regarded as the founder of gas-centrifuge
enrichment technology for Pakistan's nuclear program. He is considered the godfather of gas-
centrifuge-based uranium enrichment program of Pakistan. Khan is known in much of the world
for his involvement in acquiring critical nuclear technology designs and using them to build
Pakistan's gas-centrifuge program. His middle name is occasionally rendered as Quadeer,
Qadeer or Gaudeer, and his given names are usually abbreviated to A.Q.
In interviews from May through July 2008, Khan recanted his previous confession of his
involvement with Iran and North Korea. He said ex-president Pervez Musharraf forced him to be
a "scapegoat" for the "national interest."[2][3] Khan accuses the Pakistan Army and ex-President
Musharraf of proliferating nuclear arms.[4] He said centrifuges were sent from Pakistan 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 from the government there.[5]
Islamabad High Court on February 6, 2009 declared Khan as a free citizen of Pakistan with
freedom of movement inside the country. The verdict was rendered by Chief Justice Sardar
Muhammad Aslam.[6]. In September 2009, expressing concerns over the Lahore High Court’s
decision to end all security restrictions on Khan, the United States has warned that Dr.Khan still
remains a ’serious proliferation risk’.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Work in the Netherlands
3 Relationship with Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
4 Development of nuclear weapons
5 Competing Against Munir Ahmad Khan and PAEC
o 5.1 Missile Program Competition
o 5.2 1998 Pakistan Atomic Weapon Testing
6 Relationships with the Pakistan Armed Forces
7 Heading Kahuta Research Laboratories and Khan Labs
8 Nuclear Proliferation and Rise to Fame
9 Involvement in Pakistan's Space Program
10 Investigations into Pakistan's nuclear proliferation
11 2003 revelations from Iran and Libya
12 Dismissal, confession, and pardon
o 12.1 Investigation and confession
o 12.2 2004 Debriefing
o 12.3 Confession
o 12.4 Information coming from the investigation
o 12.5 Pardon and U.S. reaction
13 Subsequent developments
o 13.1 Questioning
o 13.2 Renewed calls for IAEA access
o 13.3 Reaction in Pakistani Parliament
o 13.4 Lack of further action
o 13.5 Opposition and Government Support to Khan
o 13.6 Cancer
o 13.7 Release from house arrest
o 13.8 Hospitalization
o 13.9 Pakistan army accused of proliferation
o 13.10 Writing Columns
14 Contribution to Metallurgical Education in Pakistan
15 Legacy
o 15.1 Honors and Recognitions
o 15.2 Honorary Degrees
16 Selected Research Papers and Patents
17 Institutes named after Khan
18 Fellowships/Memberships
19 See also
20 References
21 External links
Early life
Khan is an ethnic Pathan or Pashtun [7] born in Bhopal, India in 1936. His father Abdul Ghafoor
Khan was an academician who retired from Education Department in 1935 and settled
permanently in Bhopal[8]. In 1947, the family, emigrated from India to Pakistan. Khan studied in
St. Anthony's High School and then enrolled at the D. J. Science College of Karachi, where he
studied physics and mathematics under the supervision of noted solar physicist dr. Bashir Syed.
He obtained a B.Sc. degree in 1960 from the University of Karachi, majoring in physical
metallurgy. After his graduation, he worked as an inspector of weight and measures in Karachi.
In 1961, he resigned from his position and flew to West Germany to study metallurgical
engineering at a technical university there. He then obtained an engineer's degree (Technology)
in 1967 from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and the Doctor of Engineering
degree in metallurgical engineering under the supervision of Martin Brabers from the Catholic
University of Leuven in Belgium[9], just outside of Brussels, in 1972. Khan is very fluent in
German and he wrote his thesis in German rather than using English.
In May 1974, India carried out its first nuclear test, codenamed Smiling Buddha, to the great
alarm of the Government of Pakistan. Around this time, Khan having a distinguished career and
being one of the most senior scientists at the nuclear plant he worked at, had privileged access to
the most restricted areas of the URENCO facility as well as to documentation on the gas
centrifuge technology. India's surprise nuclear test and the subsequent Pakistani scramble to
establish a deterrent caused great alarm to the Pakistani government as well as the Pakistani
diaspora including individuals like Khan. A. Q. Khan believed that the Buddha had smiled in
anticipation of Pakistan's death.
A subsequent investigation by the Dutch authorities found that he had passed highly-classified
material to a network of Pakistani intelligence agents; however, they found no evidence that he
was sent to the Netherlands as a spy nor were they able to determine whether he approached the
Government of Pakistan about espionage first or whether they had approached him.
Undaunted, Khan wrote a letter to Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. His letter
addressed to Prime Minister Bhutto that "he sets out his experience and encourages Prime
Minister Bhutto to make a nuclear bomb using uranium, rather than plutonium, the method
Pakistan is currently trying to adopt under the leadership of Munir Ahmad Khan".
On December, 1974, Khan came back to Pakistan to meet Prime Minister Bhutto and PAEC
Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan, where he tried to convince Bhutto to adopt his Uranium route
rather than Plutonium route. Bhutto did not agree to halt the plutonium route but decided on the
spot to place Khan in charge of the uranium program as a parallel nuclear program advantage. [10]
Later that evening, Bhutto met with his close friend and PAEC Chairman Mr. Munir Ahmad
Khan in his house, where he told him that "He [Abdul Qadeer Khan] seems to make sense."
In 1976, Khan and Lieutenant-General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan were put in charge of Pakistan's
uranium enrichment program with the support of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto. The uranium enrichment program was announced in 1972 and the work itself began
in 1974 by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) as Project-706 under the guidance
of Munir Ahmad Khan, Khan joined the project in the spring of 1976. Khan took over the project
from another Pakistani nuclear engineer, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood in the same year. In July
of that year, he took over the project from PAEC and re-named the enrichment project as the
Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL) at Kahuta, Rawalpindi, subsequently, renamed the
Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) by the then President of Pakistan, General Muhammad Zia-
ul-Haq(late). The laboratories became the focal point for developing a uranium enrichment
capability for Pakistan's nuclear weapons development programme.
But Kahuta Research Laboratories led by Khan was not mandated or involved with the actual
design, development and testing of Pakistan's nuclear weapons which was the responsibility of
PAEC. Nor was Kahuta Research Laboratories responsible for developing the front end of the
nuclear fuel cycle, which comprised uranium exploration, mining, refining and the production of
yellow cake as well as the conversion of yellow cake into uranium hexafluoride gas which is the
feed material for enrichment and nuclear fuel fabrication or the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle
comprising the civil and military nuclear reactor projects and the reprocessing program, all of
which was developed and led from 1972 onwards by Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission under
Mr. Munir Ahmad Khan.
Khan initially worked under Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), headed by Munir
Ahmad Khan, for a short period. But the pair fell out, and in July 1976, Prime Minister Bhutto
gave Khan autonomous control of the uranium enrichment project, reporting directly to the
Prime Minister's office, which the arrangement has continued since Khan founded the
Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL) on 31 July 1976, with the exclusive task of indigenous
development of Uranium Enrichment Plant. Within the next five years the target would be
achieved.[11]
Kahuta Research Laboratories, led by Khan and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, which
was led by Munir Ahmad Khan created a tough institutional rivalry against each other. Khan was
also a staunch critic of Munir Ahmad Khan's work. The Monthly Atlantic described Mr. Munir
Ahmad Khan and Abdul Qadeer Khan as a "mortal enemy" of each other. According to the The
Monthly Atlantic, A.Q. Khan tried to convince Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that Uranium
route would be faster than Munir Ahmad Khan's pursuit of plutonium reprocessing, then under
way.[12] However, Munir Ahmad Khan and his team of nuclear engineers and nuclear physicists
at the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission 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. Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not disagree,
but he saw the advantage of mounting a parallel effort toward enriched uranium and decided on
the spot to place A.Q. Khan in charge.[12]
In the early 1980s, Khan's Kahuta Research Laboratories also sought to develop nuclear weapons
in competition with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and claimed to have carried out at
least one cold test in 1983, but it seems that this effort did not prove to be successful since the
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission led by Munir Ahmad Khan had carried out the first cold
test of a working nuclear device on March 11, 1983, and in the following years continued to
carry out 24 cold tests of different weapons designs. That is why the Pakistan Atomic Energy
Commission also conducted the 1998 nuclear tests for Pakistan at Chagai and Kharan.
Kahuta Research Laboratories also launched other weapons development projects in competition
with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission such as the development of the nuclear weapons-
capable Ghauri missile. In early 1980s, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission was developing
the solid-fuelled Shaheen ballistic missile. In competition with the Pakistan Atomic Energy
Commission, A.Q. Khan's Kahuta Lab. sought develop the liquid-fuelled Ghauri ballistic missile.
Kahuta also set up its own laboratories and produced its both weapon and reactor grade level
plutonium in competition with the PAEC.
1998 Pakistan Atomic Weapon Testing
The competition between KRL and PAEC became highly intense when India tested its nuclear
bombs, Pokhran-II in 1998. India's second nuclear test caused a great alarm in Pakistan but the
situation in Pakistan became more critical when then-Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif
came into intense public pressure from Pakistani society to reply to India by conducting its own
nuclear tests. Abdul Qadeer Khan repeatedly met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in which he
tried to get Prime Minister's permission to test Pakistan's nuclear weapons in Chagai. Despite his
efforts, Nawaz Sharif instead granted permission to PAEC, under Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad to test
country's first nuclear test.
The decision made by Nawaz Sharif was questioned by the Pakistani civil society. However,
Nawaz Sharif avoided an intense rivalry between PAEC and KRL and asked A.Q. Khan to
provide KRL's enriched uranium to the PAEC to test Pakistan's first nuclear tests in 1998. Nawaz
Sharif also urged both KRL and PAEC to work together in the national interest of country. It was
the enriched uranium in KRL that ultimately led to the successful detonation of Pakistan's first
nuclear device on 28 May 1998.[11] Two days later, on May 30, 1998, PAEC tested a Plutonium-
based nuclear device, according to a Pakistani defense analyst, the plutonium-based device was
much more powerful than the Uranium device.
Khan Research Laboratories, as it was now known as, occupied a unique role in Pakistan
Defense Industry, reporting directly to the office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and having
extremely close relations with the Military of Pakistan. The former Prime Minister of Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto (late) once mentioned that during her term of office, even she was not allowed to
visit Khan Research Laboratories. After President Zia-ul-Haq death, Khan sought to develop a
close and friendly relationship with Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) General (r) Mirza
Aslam Beg. According to Khan, General Mirza Aslam Beg was aware of the selling of nuclear
technology to Iran and North Korea and one of his top-trusted general was supervising it.
Khan has praised President Zia ul-Haq in his columns and numerous conferences. In an
interview with Jang Group of Newspapers, Khan paid a tribute to General Zia-ul-Haq, in which
he said "President General Zia-ul-Haq (late) is responsible in helping Pakistan acquire sensitive
nuclear technology. He also said that he made significant contributions towards the country's
nuclear program.
In 1987, a British newspaper reported that Khan had confirmed Pakistan's acquisition of a
nuclear weapons development capability, by his saying that the U.S. intelligence report "about
our possessing the bomb (nuclear weapon) is correct and so is speculation of some foreign
newspapers".[citation needed] Khan's statement was disavowed by the Government of Pakistan. and
initially he denied giving it, but he later retracted his denial. In October 1991, the Pakistani
newspaper Dawn reported that Khan had repeated his claim at a dinner meeting of businessmen
and industrialists in Karachi, which "sent a wave of jubilation" through the audience.[citation needed]
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Western governments became increasingly convinced that
covert nuclear and ballistic missile collaboration was taking place between China, Pakistan, and
North Korea. According to the Washington Post, "U.S. intelligence operatives secretly rifled
A.Q. [Khan's] luggage ... during an overseas trip in the early 1980s to find the first concrete
evidence of Chinese collaboration with Pakistan's nuclear bomb effort: a drawing of a crude, but
highly reliable, Hiroshima-sized nuclear weapon that must have come directly from Beijing,
according to the U.S. officials." In October 1990, the activities of KRL led to the United States
terminating economic and military aid to Pakistan, following this, the Government of Pakistan
agreed to a freeze in its nuclear weapons development program. But Khan, in a July 1996
interview with the Pakistani weekly Friday Times, said that "at no stage was the program of
producing nuclear weapons-grade enriched uranium] ever stopped".[13]
In 1999, Khan met with then-chief executive of Pakistan General Pervez Mushrraf with his
indigenously self-designed Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite. He briefed chief executive of
Pakistan Pervez Musharraf.
He also suggested that Pakistan should launch a satellite from its own space centers and satellite
launch centers. But General Musharraf seemed not to agree with him and did not grant him
permission to develop his satellite. He was highly disappointed and he wrote about it in his
column.[14]
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 satellites. 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.[15] He tried to convinced then-President of Pakistan Pervez
Musharraf to launch the satellite from Pakistan. On December 10, 2001, despite his efforts,
Pakistan launched its second Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite from Baikonur Cosmodrome,
Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Zenit-2.
Khan came under renewed scrutiny following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S. and the
subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan to oust the fundamentalist Taliban regime in
Afghanistan. It emerged that al-Qaeda had made repeated efforts to obtain nuclear weapons
materials to build either a radiological bomb or a crude nuclear bomb. In late October 2001, the
Pakistani government arrested three Pakistani chief nuclear scientists, all with close ties to Khan,
for their suspected connections with the Taliban.
In 2003, Libya gave up nuclear weapons-related material including these centrifuges that were
acquired from Pakistan's AQ Khan nuclear "black market".[16]
In August 2003, reports emerged of dealings with Iran; it was claimed that Khan had offered to
sell nuclear weapons technology to that country as early as 1989. The Iranian government came
under intense pressure from the United States and the European Union to make a full disclosure
of its nuclear programme and, finally, agreed in October 2003 to accept tougher investigations
from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA reported that Iran had established a
large uranium enrichment facility using gas centrifuges based on the "stolen" URENCO designs,
which had been obtained "from a foreign intermediary in 1987." The intermediary was not
named but many diplomats and analysts pointed to Pakistan and, specifically, to Khan, who was
said to have visited Iran in 1986. The Iranians turned over the names of their suppliers and the
international inspectors quickly identified the Iranian gas centrifuges as Pak-1's, the model of
intense [HEU] that was indegeniously developed by Khan in the early 1980s. In December 2003,
two senior staff members at Khan Labs or KL were arrested on suspicion of having sold nuclear
weapons technology to the Iranians.
Also in December 2003, Libya made a surprise announcement that it had weapons of mass
destruction programmes which it would now abandon. Libyan government officials were quoted
as saying that Libya had bought nuclear components from various black market dealers,
including Pakistani nuclear scientists. U.S. officials who visited the Libyan uranium enrichment
plants shortly afterwards reported that the gas centrifuges used there were very similar to the
Iranian ones. The IAEA officials also visited to the Libyan nuclear plant where they found the
models of Paksat-1. The Interpol police also arrested three Swiss nuclear scientists, who were
known to be Khan's close associate and friends.
The Pakistani government's blanket denials became untenable as evidence mounted of illicit
nuclear weapons technology transfers. It opened an investigation into Khan's activities, arguing
that even if there had been wrongdoing, it had occurred without the Government of Pakistan's
knowledge or approval. But critics noted that virtually all of Khan's overseas travels, to Iran,
Libya, North Korea, Niger, Mali, and the Middle East, were on official Pakistan government
aircraft which he commandeered at will, given the status he enjoyed in Pakistan. Often, he was
accompanied by senior members of the Pakistan nuclear establishment.
2004 Debriefing
Although he was not arrested, Khan was summoned for "debriefing". On January 25, 2004,
Pakistani investigators reported that Khan and Mohammed Farooq, a high-ranking manager at
KRL, had provided unauthorised technical assistance to Iran's nuclear weapons program in the
late 1980s and early 1990s, allegedly in exchange for tens of millions of dollars. General Mirza
Aslam Beg, a former Chief of Army Staff at the time, was also said to have been implicated; the
Wall Street Journal quoted U.S. government officials as saying that Khan had told the
investigators that the nuclear weapons technology transfers to Iran had been authorised by
General Mirza Aslam Beg.[17]. On January 31, Khan was dismissed from his post as the Science
Adviser to the President of Pakistan, ostensibly to "allow a fair investigation" of the nuclear
weapons technology proliferation allegations.
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 technology to aid
in nuclear weapons programs, and said that the government had not been complicit in the
proliferation activities. The Pakistani official who made the announcement said that Khan had
admitted to transferring 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. [18] On
February 4, 2004, Khan appeared on national television and confessed to running a proliferation
ring; he was pardoned the next day by Musharraf, the Pakistani president, but held under house
arrest.[19]
The full scope of the Khan network is not fully known. 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. According to Western sources, Khan had three motivations
for his proliferation: 1. a defiance of Western nations and an eagerness to pierce the "clouds of
so-called secrecy," 2. an eagerness to give nuclear technology to Muslim nations, and 3. money,
acquiring wealth and real estate in his dealings. Much of the technology he sold was second-hand
from Pakistan's own nuclear program and involved many of the same logistical connections
which he had used to develop the Pakistani bomb.[20] 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. [19] The Khan investigation also revealed how
many European companies were defying export restrictions and aiding the Khan network as well
as the production of the Pakistani bomb. Dutch companies exported thousands of centrifuges to
Pakistan as early as 1976, and a German company exported facilities for the production of
tritium to the country.[21]
The investigation exposed Israeli businessman Asher Karni as having sold nuclear devices to
Khan's associates. Karni is currently awaiting trial in a U.S. prison. Tahir was arrested in
Malaysia in May 2004 under a Malaysian law allowing for the detention of individuals posing a
security threat.[19]
On February 5, 2004, the day after Khan's televised confession, he was pardoned by Pakistani
President Musharraf. However, Khan remained under house arrest.
The United States government imposed no sanctions on the Pakistani government following the
confession and pardon. U.S. government 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 Pakistani military might have led to restrictions on or the
loss of use of Pakistan military bases needed by US 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.[citation needed] 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 February 11, 2004, U.S. President George W.
Bush proposed to reform the International Atomic Energy Agency: "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."[22] The Bush proposal was seen as targeted against Pakistan which, currently, serves a
regular term on the IAEA's Board of Governors. It has not received attention from other
governments.
In western media, Khan became a major symbol of the threat of proliferation. In February 2005,
he was featured on the cover of U.S.-based Time magazine as the "Merchant of Menace", labeled
"the world's most dangerous nuclear trafficker," and in November 2005, the Atlantic Monthly ran
a cover on Khan ("The Wrath of Khan") that featured a picture of a mushroom cloud behind
Khan's head.
Subsequent developments
Questioning
In September 2005, Musharraf revealed that after two years of questioning Khan — which the
Pakistani government insisted to do itself without outside intervention — that they had
confirmed that Khan had supplied centrifuge parts to North Korea. Still undetermined was
whether or not Khan passed a bomb design to North Korea or Iran that had been discovered in
Libya.[23]
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 "fullness" of 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 interpret
them as signalling growing discontent within the U.S. establishment with the then Pakistani
regime headed by Musharraf.
In May 2006, the U.S House of Representatives Subcommittee on International Terrorism and
Nonproliferation held a hearing titled, "The A.Q. Khan Network: Case Closed?"
Recommendations offered by legislators and experts at this hearing included demanding that
Pakistan turn over Khan to the U.S. for questioning as well as that Pakistan make further efforts
to curb future nuclear proliferation. In June 2006, the Senate of Pakistan, subcommittee hearing,
issued a unanimous resolution criticizing the U.S committee, stating that it will not turn over
Khan to U.S. authorities and defending its sovereignty and nuclear program.
It has also been speculated that Khan's two daughters, who live in the UK and are UK subjects
(thanks to their part-British, part-South African mother Henny), are in possession of extensive
documentation linking the government of Pakistan to Khan's activities; such documentation is
presumably intended to ensure that no further action is taken against Khan. [26] Conversely, both
high-profile government members, such as Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq, as well as political
opposition parties have expressed their support for Khan, allegations of nuclear trafficking
notwithstanding.
Cancer
On August 22, 2006, the Pakistani government announced that Khan had been diagnosed with
prostate cancer and was undergoing treatment. On September 9, 2006, Khan was operated at Aga
Khan hospital, in Karachi. According to doctors, the operation was successful, but on October 30
it was reported that his condition had deteriorated and he was suffering from deep vein
thrombosis.[27]
In February 2009, two senior government officials told the Associated Press that restrictions on
Khan has been removed and he is considered as a free citizen, and that Khan could meet friends
and relatives either at his home or elsewhere in Pakistan. The officials said that a security detail
continued to control his movements.[28]
Hospitalization
On March 5, 2008, Khan was admitted to an Islamabad hospital [29] with low blood pressure and
fever [30], reportedly due to an infection. He was released four days later after "he gained
significant improvement".
Khan said that Pakistan gave centrifuges to North Korea in a 2000 shipment supervised by the
army. The uranium enrichment equipment was sent from Pakistan in a North Korean plane
loaded under the supervision of Pakistani security officials. He also said that he had travelled to
North Korea in 1999 with a Pakistani Army general to buy shoulder-launched missiles from the
government there. Asked why he had taken sole responsibility for the nuclear 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.[5]
Khan sent journalist Simon Henderson a letter on December 10, 2003, saying that he was acting
precisely under the orders of the Pakistani government when he sold the designs of nuclear
weapons 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. [31] Nuclear weapons expert
David Albright of the ISIS agrees that Khan's activities were government-sanctioned.[32]
Writing Columns
On November 12, 2008, he started writing weekly columns in The News International [33] and
Daily Jang [34][34]. His columns heavily emphasis on the education and engineering disciplines. He
advocated for the importance of engineering disciplines and importance of education. Khan who
was accused of selling sensitive nuclear technology to other countries of the world, has gained a
significant respect through his columns among in Pakistanis. Khan expressed his views on the of
environmental issues. Khan is an avid supporter of Science and Technology education in
Pakistan. Even though his columns heavily focused on the issues of education, Khan severely
criticized Pervez Musharraf and his policies, in which he said because of his cruel domestic
policies within Pakistan. The Taliban insurgency grew momentarily as well as instability in the
country.
Legacy
Khan is no longer associated with Pakistan's atomic program. However, he is still widely seen as
"Father of Pakistan's atomic program" even though he was only head of the centrifuge-based
enrichment project at Kahuta and not the entire nuclear program, which was developed and run
by PAEC Chairman, Munir Ahmad Khan. Khan's involvement in nuclear proliferation has
shocked the entire nation and he was criticized by his peers and fellow scientists such as Pervaiz
Hoodbhoy. However, Khan's debriefing heavily affected ex-President General Pervez
Musharraf's popularity. It also increased Anti-American feelings among some Pakistanis. Many
people in Pakistan blamed the United States for Khan's house-arrest. Many journalists and the
mainstream media supported Khan and expressed their sympathies to him.
Opposition parties in Pakistan as well as the government coalition parties rose their voices for
Khan. This created a tough position for President Musharraf as well as United States. High-
profile government members such as ex-religious affairs minister Mr. Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq
held a public press conference on May 2007 and expressed his support for Khan, allegations of
nuclear trafficking notwithstanding. A local Pakistani journalist, Ahmed Quraishi, wrote in his
column:
"We did not invent nuclear proliferation. Certainly Abdul Qadeer Khan gets no
“ marks for originality in this area. What Khan did is wrong, but he was only walking
in the footsteps of the pioneers of nuclear proliferation before him such as Klaus
Fuchs. Also the British, German, Swiss and French experts and companies that
criss-crossed the globe in the 1970s and 80s trying to sell components for
enrichment technology, complete with secret catalogues marketing their products
and services".[35] ”
Honors and Recognitions
On August 14, 1989, Khan, along with PAEC Chairman Munir Ahmad Khan, was awarded the
high civilian award of "Hilal-e-Imtiaz" by former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. In August 14,
1996, he was awarded the highest civilian award "Nishan-e-Imtiaz" by former Prime Minister of
Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. In March 12, 1999, he was twice awarded the highest civilian award
"Nishan-e-Imtiaz" from President of Pakistan Muhammad Rafiq Tarar. Khan is the only
Pakistani citizen who has been twice awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz.
Honorary Degrees
Khan has been awarded various honorary doctorates from many universities in Pakistan. In 1989,
Khan was awarded the honorary degree of Doctorate of Science by the University of Karachi.[36]
In 1993, an honorary degree of Doctorate of Science by the Baqai Medical University, Karachi.
In 1998, a D.Sc from the Hamdard University in Karachi[37]. In 1999 he was awarded a D.Sc
from Gomal University[38]. In 2000, he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctorate of Science
by the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore.Lahore[37][39].
Despite his international image, Khan remains widely popular among in Pakistanis and he is
considered domestically to be one of the most-influential and respected scientists in Pakistan [8].
In an interview with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, a known political analyst, Dr. Salim
Farookhi described Khan as, " the most influential and talented scientist that Pakistan has
produced."[40]
`Topics in Physical Metallurgy' (Eds. A.Q. Khan and M.J. Brabers). , Elsevier,
Amsterdam, 1972.
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.
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).
See also
Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear program of Iran
Friedrich Tinner
Asher Karni
Mohammad Qadir Hussain
Iran-Pakistan relations
Pakistan-North Korea relations
Project-706
References
1. ^ http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/aq-khan/2
2. ^ ABC News: ABC Exclusive: Pakistani Bomb Scientist Breaks Silence
3. ^ Extracts from an telephone interview conducted by the Guardian's correspondent, Deccan
Walsh
4. ^ a b Dr A.Q Khan's accusation of Pervez Musharraf being involved in transferring nuclear
technology to North Korea, Dawn, 2008-07-05[1]
5. ^ a b Pakistani Says Army Knew Atomic Parts Were Shipped, AP Wire story in New York Times,
2008-07-05
6. ^ http://geo.tv/2-6-2009/34508.htm
7. ^ http://www.myiwc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7699
8. ^ a b http://www.pakistanileaders.com.pk/profile/Abdul_Qadeer_Khan
9. ^ About Khan's education, achievements and research test
http://www.draqkhan.com.pk/about.htm
10. ^ http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=zulfikar_ali_bhutto_1
11. ^ a b http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/khan.htm
12. ^ a b http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/aq-khan/3
13. ^ Kahuta, Khan Research Laboratories, A.Q. Khan Laboratories, Engineering Research
Laboratories (ERL), Federation of American Scientists (FAS), accessed July 3, 2007
14. ^ http://draqkhan.com.pk/index.php/2008/11/the-past-and-the-present-12-nov-2008/#more-3
15. ^ http://www.defence.pk/forums/defence-industry-technology/967-pakistan-space-satellite-
developments.html
16. ^ Libya Renounces Weapons of Mass Destruction
17. ^ John Lancaster and Kamran Khan, Musharraf Named in Nuclear Probe: Senior Pakistani Army
Officers Were Aware of Technology Transfers, Scientist Says", Washington Post, February 3,
2004
18. ^ David Rohde and David Sanger, "Key Pakistani is Said to Admit Atom Transfers", New York
Times, 2 February 2004: A1.
19. ^ a b c Bill Powell and Tim McGirk, "The Man Who Sold the Bomb; How Pakistan's A.Q. Khan
outwitted Western intelligence to build a global nuclear-smuggling ring that made the world a
more dangerous place", Time Magazine, 14 February 2005, p. 22.
20. ^ William J. Broad, David E. Sanger, and Raymond Bonner, "A Tale of Nuclear Proliferation:
How Pakistani Built His Network", New York Times (12 February 2004): A1.
21. ^ Craig S. Smith, "Roots of Pakistan Atomic Scandal Traced to Europe", New York Times, 19
February 2004, page A3
22. ^ The transcript of the speech is available online at "President Announces New Measures to
Counter the Threat of WMD", address by President George W. Bush at the National Defense
University, February 11, 2004
23. ^ David E. Sanger, "Pakistan Leader Confirms Nuclear Exports," New York Times, 13 September
2005, p. A10
24. ^ Ron Moreau and Zahid Hussain, "Chain of Command; The Military: Musharraf dodged a
bullet, but could be heading for a showdown with his Army", Newsweek, 16 February 2004, p.
20.
25. ^ "A Q Khan did not act alone" says Hans Blix team
26. ^ Shyam Bhatia, "Khan's daughter leaves country with important documents", February 16, 2004
27. ^ "Disgraced Pakistani scientist's health poor", Reuters, October 30, 2006
28. ^ http://www.dawn.net/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content
%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/ihc-declares-drkhan-free-citizen--qs
29. ^ "Pakistan nuclear scientist shifted to hospital on infection", IRNA, March 5, 2008
30. ^ "Pakistan's top nuclear scientist discharged from hospital", IRNA, March 9, 2008
31. ^ Denies Pakistan's official statements that he exported nuclear secrets as a rogue agent and
implicated only former government officials who are no longer living. Instead, Khan repeatedly
states that top politicians and military officers were immersed in the country's foreign nuclear
dealings. R. Jeffrey Smith and Joby Warrick (13 Nov 2009). "A nuclear power's act of
proliferation". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2009/11/12/AR2009111211060.html.
32. ^ The transfer of centrifuges for uranium enrichment to North Korea was almost certainly
sanctioned by the government, according to David Albright. James Kitfield (12 March 2010).
"Nuclear Smugglers Still at Work, Expert Says". National Journal, Global Security Newswire.
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100312_1208.php.
33. ^ [2]
34. ^ a b [3]
35. ^ http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/article_detail.php?id=111
36. ^ Khan, Abdul Qadeer. "Pakistan Academy of Sciences Fellowship members". Pakistan
Academy of Sciences. http://www.paspk.org/fellow5.htm. Retrieved 1997.
37. ^ a b http://www.paspk.org/fellow5.htm
38. ^ Khan, Abdul Qadeer. "Islamic Academy of Sciences Fellowship members". Islamic Academy
of Sciences. http://www.ias-worldwide.org/profiles/prof85.htm. Retrieved 1998.
39. ^ http://www.ias-worldwide.org/profiles/prof85.htm
40. ^ http://www.friendskorner.com/forum/f39/successful-pakistanis-around-world-8830/
External links
Annotated bibliography for AQ Khan from the Alsos Digital Library on Nuclear Issues
Articles
Online Books
"Islamic Atomic Bomb for sale in World Black Market, by RV Bhasin" . R.V. Bhasin.
http://www.rvbhasin.com.
"Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan and Nuclear Pakistan by Shahid Nazir Choudhry (Urdu)".
Urdupoint. http://www.urdupoint.com/books/bookDetail.php?
orderBy=chapter_id&a=1&book_id=1&writer_id=1.
"The Debriefing of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan by Zahid Malik (Urdu)" . Millat.
http://www.millat.com/books/mohsan/book.htm.