Author: Victoria Schofield in Islamabad
and David Wastell
Publication: The Telegraph, UK
Date: February 8, 2004
President Pervaiz Musharraf has
pledged that the disgraced founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme
can keep the vast wealth he accumulated selling bomb-making technology
to rogue states around the world.
As Gen Musharraf provoked worldwide
consternation by pardoning Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan for supplying nuclear expertise
to Libya, Iran and North Korea, he said last week that he would also spare
the scientist's property or assets.
"He can keep his money," Gen Musharraf
said, adding that there had been good reason not to investigate the origin
of Dr Khan's suspicious wealth before 1998, when Pakistan successfully
tested its first nuclear weapon. "We wanted the bomb in the national interest
and so you have to ask yourself whether you act against the person who
enabled you to get the bomb."
Dr Khan is believed to have earned
millions of dollars from his sale of nuclear know-how, beginning in the
late 1980s. Much of the money was funnelled through bank accounts in the
Middle East. His assets include four houses in Islamabad worth an estimated
£1.5 million, a villa on the Caspian Sea, a hotel in Mali and a valuable
vintage car collection.
Gen Musharraf said he understood
the need for Pakistani scientists to develop a secret overseas network
when building their first nuclear weapon. "Obviously, we made our nuclear
strength from the underworld. We did not buy openly. Every single atomic
power has come through the underworld, even India."
Dr Khan, 69, made a televised confession
of his wrongdoing last week after being confronted by government investigators.
Since then he has been in a state of limbo. Despite being granted a pardon,
he is under house arrest and has been forbidden to give interviews. "He
should not talk for some time," Gen Musharraf told the Telegraph.
There has been widespread criticism
in Pakistan over the treatment of a man nationally revered as the "father
of the bomb". His supporters have filed a habeas corpus petition to be
heard tomorrow by the Lahore High Court, asking it to end the "media trial"
of a "national hero".
Opposition parties, meanwhile, have
taken advantage of the growing groundswell of support for Dr Khan to renew
their attacks on Gen Musharraf, who came to power in a military coup four
years ago.
The Pakistan People's Party, led
from exile by the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, doubts the authenticity
of Dr Khan's admission, which it says was made "under duress".
Dr Khan was initially reported to
have told government investigators that he did nothing without the knowledge
of Pakistan's military chiefs, including Gen Musharraf. In his televised
confession, however, he said he had no authorisation from the government.
Imran Khan, the former cricketer
who leads the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI), claims that Gen Musharraf
pressurised Dr Khan in order to safeguard his own reputation. "It could
not be possible that nuclear technology was transferred without the knowledge
of top military officials," he said.
Dr Khan's evolution into national
hero began soon after India shocked its neighbour with its first nuclear
bomb test in 1974. He promised Pakistan's then prime minister, Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto, that he could match India's weapon and finally did so in 1998,
when Pakistan successfully tested its first nuclear weapon. He became an
icon, his image appearing on billboards and bumper stickers.
Dr Khan sold nuclear technology
almost as fast as Pakistan devised it, offering Saddam Hussein a design
for a nuclear weapon in 1990, according to a document seized by UN weapons
inspectors. The Iraqi leader suspected a trap and declined.
7 February 2004: Bleak future
for Pakistan's 'bomb hero'
4 February 2004[Http:]: Pardon
for scientist who sold atom bomb secrets
More at:
http://tinyurl.com/2dh7d
Or,
http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/02/08/w
pak08.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/02/08/ixportal.html
- - - - - - -
Posted on 1/7/2004 by mylife
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - -
Dr Oppenheimer is surely spinning
in his grave.
Posted on 1/7/2004 by CatAtomic
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - -
This scientist was just the fall
guy. The Paki govt has been selling nuclear technology everywhere, and
they got caught. Rather than fessing up, the governing elites picked this
poor guy on whom to blame the whole mess.
Posted on 1/7/2004 by Paleoguy
