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The US administration may still dubiously term Islamabad a loyal ally in its all out war against global terrorism but the media in the west thinks otherwise. It has in the recent weeks been busy, informing the world of Pakistan's numerous dirty deals to secretly passing on nuclear weapon making know-how to several countries for money. The beneficiaries have mostly been ruled by dictatorial regimes. Curiously, some of the recipients like Iran, Iraq and North Korea are rightly or wrongly termed by the US as 'axis of evil'. Among other nations Saudi Arabia and Libya are believed to have gained from Pakistan's gainful efforts of nuclear proliferation. Islamabad reportedly had reached an informal understanding on sharing nuclear technology with Saudi Arabia for monetary gains. Saudi Prince Abdulla had reportedly visited Pakistani nuclear establishments prior to 9/11.
Ironically, after the former Prime Minister Z.A Bhutto 'had given the infamous call in late seventies that Pakistanis will prefer to eat grass but have the bomb, the first full-fledged blue prints of the weaponised atom were stolen by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadir Khan from the west. Soon after Bhutto was ousted by General Zia ul Haq in a military coup but the nuclear programme continued with a new vigour. AQ Khan who later became father of the country's first 'Islamic bomb' was an employee of the nuclear research facility in Holland. In the aftermath of committing the act of high tech thievery, he all of a sudden left for Pakistan along with the stolen blue prints to head its newly set up convert nuclear weapons programme. The Dutch authorities later tried Khan and convicted him in absentia.
In the subsequent years, China, which became a staunch ally after attacking India in 1962, cynically supplemented Pakistani efforts to acquire India specific nukes in a big way. Experts believe Beijing provided Islamabad with the design of uranium bomb that had been successfully tested over Lop Nor proving area in Xinjiang in way back 1966. Chinese have not only liberally supplied gas centrifuges for enriching weapon grade uranium, ring magnets and related equipment for fabricating the nukes but also set up plutonium processing plant for making, weapons grade plutonium.
After mastering the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) technology, Pakistani scientists embarked upon the proliferation route in the similar surreptitious manner that they had used to acquire it. They had even met Osama bin Laden who was in search of WMDs and offered the know-how to Al Qaeda. Afterwards one of the scientists involved was arrested for questioning while other two had fled to safe sanctuary in Myanmar. Fortunately for the civilized world, devilish Al Qaeda and Taliban were soon ignominiously routed out of Afghanistan -by massive American bombing and military action.
Japanese media has recently revealed that Washington had put Pressure on Pakistan to provide details of assistance provided by its scientists to North Korea immediately after General Musharraf had ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharrif in 1999 in bloodless coup. An investigation was carried out by the powerful army establishment, which ironically controls the nation's nuclear weapon programme. Islamabad had then secretly furnished the names of scientists and military officers involved in individual, capacity' in providing nuclear arms technology to North Korea with the rider that the Pakistani government had officially nothing to do with transfer.
Further, in the wake of incredible revelations of Pakistan North Korea nuclear weapon nexus, allegations also have surfaced on its wicked links with Iraq. According to a quaint news item which has appeared in the Times. London during the preceding weeks, five permanent members of the UN Security Council-the US, Russia, the UK, France and China were briefed by UN weapons inspectors on a Pakistani scientist's offer to Baghdad of Nuclear technology.
He is said to have offered Iraqis nuclear weapons designs and help in procuring bomb components. The British foreign office has rightly taken a serious view on Pakistan's alleged role in nuclear technology proliferation and is understood to have taken up the gravity of the matter at the highest level in Pakistan.
While fresh disclosures on Pakistan's role in WMD) proliferation particularly to the so called rogue states in recent years continue to trickle in the international media, it is highly doubtful that the dubious ruler of this terrorist infested country will be able to stem the rot in future. Fears have been repeatedly expressed on the possibility of nuclear weapons falling in the hands of powerful Islamic fundamentalist organisations associated with global terrorism. Already two Pakistani provinces bordering Afghanistan are being ruled by MMA a fundamentalist political party openly sympathetic to Taliban an Al Qaeda.
These fronts are creation of notorious Inter Services intelligence (ISI) which is absolutely controlled by the military commanders. One former ISI chief in order to exonerate himself has gone on record by stating that he had airlifted arms and ammunition to Bosnian Muslims in defiance of UN directions. ISI has been supplying weapons to rebel groups in Chechnya, Dagestan, and Central Asia besides to terrorists operating in Kashmir.
Should a chaotic nation where the gun culture rules the roost with military and its intelligence wing holding the real reins of political power, be allowed to possess deadly nuclear weapons? The Civilized World and especially the US now increasingly cosying up to Islamabad with military and financial assistance needs to ponder over this aspect.
It must be understood that Pakistan
is no different from Iraq and North Korea and hence action needs to be
taken to disarm it of the nuclear weapons. New Delhi, a grave victim of
nuclear threats and cross-border terrorism sponsored by, Pakistan during
the last two decades will have to launch fresh, forceful and all out political
and diplomatic offensive to expose India's wily western neighbour of its
demonic designs.
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