I am watching television right now and every news channel is reporting the latest interview by Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. This interview came as a surprise to many people here in Pakistan and is sending shock waves around the world (wait and see after 4th July holiday in US).
Dr. Khan, who remains popular across Pakistan has lived in the shadows since 2004, confined to his Islamabad home. People of Pakistan last saw him in a tearful televised confession in which he admitted selling nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya. President Musharraf has been telling Pakistanis since 2004 that Dr. Khan did it for money and personal greed. In his interview on May 30 2008, given to British newspaper Guardian, Dr. Khan claimed that he took the blame on himself in the national interest. Dr. Khan has been in the news for last few weeks because of his detention case in the Islamabad High Court but today he returned to the spotlight with a new twist: that North Korea received centrifuges from Pakistan in a 2000 shipment supervised by the security forces during the rule of President Pervez Musharraf.
According to Dr. Khan, the uranium enrichment equipment was sent from Pakistan in a North Korean plane that was loaded under the supervision of Pakistani security officials. He claims that the security forces had “complete knowledge” of the shipment and that it must have been sent with the consent of President Pervez Musharraf. Dr. Khan also disclosed that North Korea gave 200 missiles to Pakistan during Kargil War on his request without any payment. However, the government sources have completely rejected the statement, saying such reports are part of propaganda against Pakistan’s nuclear program.
Dr. Khan has often insisted in recent past too that if anything at all was smuggled to North Korea, Iran or Libya, it was in complete knowledge of Pakistan Army, particularly the ISI Chief Gen. Mahmood Ali Durrani (later the Pak Ambassador to US and currently national security adviser) and other officials in-charge of logistics etc. as it was not possible for him to do something like that alone. The centrifuges are large cylinders which cannot be just transported in a brief case. They need special care for transportation. American officials have even given the flight numbers which allegedly transported the nuclear material.
Talking to media Dr. Khan said that he didn’t say anything new and he just explained what Gen. Musharraf has already disclosed in his book, In The Line of Fire. According to Geo TV:
Renowned nuclear scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan has said that President Pervez Musharraf had already published in his book about the dispatching of centrifuges to North Korea and that his (Dr. Qadeer’s) statement was carried by the foreign news agency in a distorted manner. Talking to Geo News, Dr. A. Q. Khan said when he was asked by a foreign news agency whether the centrifuges were sent to N. Korea he replied that this had already been published in the President’s book. Dr. Khan said any question regarding the dispatch of centrifuges be put to President Pervez Musharraf. “Nothing could be sent without the supervision of the security forces,†he said. He expressed hope that his detention will end soon.
I don’t know how much damage this latest interview will cause to already under-threat nuclear program of Pakistan. But I believe that the way Gen. Musharraf and his regime has treated Dr. Khan since 2004, something like that was bound to happen. No matter whether Dr. Khan is a national hero as majority of Pakistanis still believe he is or a thief as some claim, we must not forget that he is a human being after all.
Allegedly, he was not even allowed to walk out of his home and meet anyone at all since 2004. His elder daughter Dina Khan was not allowed to meet him for one year. Just last week, the Deputy Attorney General claimed in Islamabad High Court and in front of media that Dr. Khan is absolutely free to meet anyone and no restrictions are placed on him. The same evening, many local TV channels showed live how Dr. Sahab was stopped by security officials to go to a dental clinic when he was suffering form severe pain his teeth. The officials ignored him for more than 24 hours until he came out, sat in the middle of road and refused to go back inside. Only then the permission was granted to take him to a dental clinic and the whole drama was shown live on a local channel Express News.
I believe that the authorities should immediately talk to Dr. Khan, lift restrictions on him so that everything could be settled. Sensitive matters like this should never come on media like that and we should close this matter ASAP. I think its a very dangerous trend that we make people believe in something for decades and then suddenly expect them to believe otherwise. Lets hope wisdom prevails before its too late.
Reference: Yahoo News Story on the topic here.
Well, we will never get the whole picture, but don’t forget Dr. AQK has said in one of his interviews, very recently that he had ONLY facilitated the meeting between them (the clients and the mafia). Isn’t this enough to tell the story?
I hope Dr. Qadeer has not gone cuckoos. The statement Dr. Qadeer has given is not only dangerous for him and musharaf but for the entire country.
Dr. sahib should have known that if you throw a brick in a shit you’ll get soiled yourself. That’s what he has done. By admitting that centrifuges were sent to Korea by Gen. Musharaf does not absolve Dr. Qadeer of the crime. Admitting it to Associated Press expressly on this issue is shameful and derogatory. Just to throw an equalizer with musharaf the whole drama narrated by Dr. Qadeer to the International press is so depressing that one never expected this from a man of Dr. Qadeer’s caliber.
Dr. Qadeer you are a Pakistani, hero of a nation because you happened to be in Pakistan. What ever happened with you at the hands of musharaf, right or wrong, the entire nation had sympathies with you. BUT not after what you have said in your interview to the Associated Press.
Dr. Sahib if you think that in 1993 Korea gave 200 missiles to Pakistan just because of you that made you so proud of the fantasy world you are living in then GOD be with you.
You were not supposed to tell it to the entire world.
DR. QADEER YOU PISSED OFF THE ENTIRE PAKISTANI NATION.
I am glad that he was talking. Restrained now but for how long?
The army generals, and AQ Khan made money together then why is he only one made to suffer? They all should be house arrested too. Instead the retarded Generals are all over the TV and media making it look like they are the only patriot left in the country.
National interest is not served by hiding things like. Transparency is needed and AQ Khan along with all the generals should appear on the TV and explained to the people and world what they did and why they did it.
Thieves falling out. The megalomaniac purveyor of purloined plans, A Q Khan, complaining about the Army – he sure has a sense of irony. The na-paak kleptocrats (Army generals, ISI and the AQK network) have bled the country dry and this schmuck has the chutzpah to whine about unfair treatment. As they say, “Chaacha (AQK) chor, bhatija (the schmuck Mush) qazi, chaache ke ghar naubatbaazi”.
So much disillusion has been created in last 8 years about everything that now its hard to distinguish who is telling the truth and who is a lier.
I don’t know why we should take the word of shameless crook like Musharraf who has no credibility left and still doesn’t want to get lost. Has there ever been a thing he said which turned out to be true? It seems like Musharraf and his generals are following another American agenda as they have been doing for last 8-9 years or so.
Nonetheless, I feel sorry for AQ Khan and his family.