Author: Manoj Joshi
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 3, 2004
The controversial founder of the
Pakistani nuclear weapons programme, A.Q. Khan, has confessed to the Pakistani
authorities that he transferred nuclear technology to North Korea, Iran
and Libya. Reports from Islamabad said the disclosure was made at a high-level
briefing of a select group of Pakistani journalists on Sunday.
The accounts appearing in the Pakistani
papers indicate that Mr. Khan was at the centre of a network that had smuggled
nuclear material in chartered aircraft, shared designs for centrifuges
used to make enriched uranium that is used at the core of atomic bombs
and provided detailed briefings to scientists from Iran, Libya and North
Korea.
Six nuclear scientists from the
prestigious Khan Research Laboratory are in "protective custody" following
accusations of passing nuclear technology to Iran and Libya, the Pakistani
military said on Sunday But until now Pakistani officials are claiming
that Dr Khan, who is seen as a national hero, is not under arrest.
According to the Pakistani sources
who attended the briefing, Mr. Khan believed that the emergence of more
nuclear states would ease pressure on Pakistan and also that it would help
the Muslim cause.
The unfolding drama in Pakistan
indicates that Pakistan has maintained a thriving black market in nuclear
technology and knowledge.
