Last Wednesday, an interview with Pakistan’s infamous nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan (more widely known as AQ Khan), was released by The Nation, [see “AQ Khan, “the Father of the Atomic Bomb” wants Freedom”]. In the news piece, which gained some traction among Western media outlets last week, Khan asserted his desire to be freed from house arrest because of his “deteriorating health.” In 2004, the nuclear scientist, interchangeably known as the “father” of Pakistan’s atomic bomb, confessed on television to “running a proliferation network” and passing nuclear secrets on to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Although he was pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf, he has been under house arrest since the widely publicized confession.
The rare interview was further bolstered, when, in a phone conversation with the AFP on Sunday, AQ Khan said “he took the blame” for passing nuclear secrets four years ago in order “to save his country.” He told the news agency, “I saved the country for the first time when I made Pakistan a nuclear nation and saved it again when I confessed and took the whole blame on myself…Even Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain said I saved Pakistan by accepting the whole blame myself.” Although Khan stated he had had no contact with the new government, The News cited a “report,” which said the government has decided to ease the restrictions placed on the nuclear scientist. According to the news agency, Khan would be allowed to meet his friends and close relatives at least twice a month, and have meals with them. He would be able to meet at least six close friends and relatives as nominated by him. On Monday, newly appointed foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in an interview with local television, “Yes, I don’t want to see his movement restricted…He is a Pakistani, a respected Pakistani, I think that he should be allowed to see his friends and I think that he should be allowed to go for a drive…I think he should be allowed to go and have a meal at a restaurant, I see no reason why he should be deprived of that, on the other hand we also have to be concerned about his security and health.”
The funny thing is, AQ Khan is not just any Pakistani. He is a nuclear scientist, the man responsible for making Pakistan a “nuclear nation.” He is both a hero and a villain to Pakistanis. And he is also the man allegedly responsible for selling secrets to “contentious” states. To treat him like a regular Pakistani citizen demeans the very premise of why he was put under house arrest in the first place. [The above image was the cover of TIME magazine in February 2005, the title reads: The Merchant of Menace, Exclusive: How AQ Khan Became the World’s Most Dangerous Nuclear Trafficker].
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Great article…you never hear the two sides of Dr. Khan. Sure, the man was seen as a hero for putting Pakistan on the map as a nuclear nation, which allowed us to be put on the forefront of the international community.
However, what hero, sells nuclear secrets to countries that are condemned for their political stances. How does that make Pakistan look as a nation? For a man so prestigious and so respected (at one point) he truly lack class and honor, and really let his country down. Who cares if he admitted to what he did. As if that’s going to get him any sympathy. Who else is going to take blame, but himself. He did wrong, he committed an international crime, he dishonored his country. I find it appalling that anyone would even consider cutting him any slack.
It is a sad reality that we live in a world where a man who creates something that simply destroys human life is hailed as a hero. With that liberal humanist statement aside, it is fair to say that a man that has passed nuclear secrets to rogue nations should be thankful that house arrest is the sentence that he faced. In many nations, he would have been given the death penalty without hesitation (i.e. the Rosenbergs in the United States). I understand that his health is detriorating but I do not understand why that legitimizes his need to sit in a public place to eat and socialize. Quite frankly, any man who provided the North Korean regime with the power to snuff out millions of lives on a whim deserves no better than what he has received.
Lets be honest here— he wasn’t the only nuclear scientist in Pakistan– infact there were more important scientists in developing the nukes for Pakistan. However, he was the one who exported it to the world for his own personal gain. If it was for the gain of the country, it would be something else but it was for personal gain.
That being said– it is still a very controversial issue to try to punish him. He def. did a lot wrong but we can conclusively say that he was a scapegoat in this whole manner– there were other (possibly bigger) fish to fry (ie the army and intl. players). That is why he wasn’t allowed to be interviewed by the international political community.
So– keep him restricted–remember what he contributed to the state of Pakistan–remember his corruption (bc thats what it was) in selling Pakistani secrets to other states–DONT FORGET that he was a scapegoat.
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1- AQ Khan’s ego seems to have gotten the better of him. He, like many of Pakistan’s civil servants and politicians, made themselves very wealthy at the cost of the country.
2- He wasn’t entirely central to the nuclear program. He played a critical role. He sidelined others publicly, and helped let others make him the scapegoat.
3- The GOP was likely involved in proliferation of nuclear and ballistic technology. But much of that was due to the sanctions put on Pakistan. Cash-strapped, it had to make some $$. There are other more nefarious reasons too. But I think everyone knows that.
India got nukes, so Pakistan had to get them. Sad, deadly, and ugly logic. But, hey if you want peace, you have to consistently push against anyone holding the weapons.
4- Nuclear weapons are as inherently evil a weapon as you can get. They are the least discriminatory. I don’t see how any mainstream religious or ethical tradition can sanction them. Nukes were used only when one country had them. After that, never.
5- All these other countries, aside from the big 3 or 4, got nukes via some sort of proliferation, whether or not it actually defied int’l sanctions. I’m talking about India, Israel, etc.
6- The moralism in the nuke debate is false. Nukes are quite simply immoral. So one can talk about nuke proliferation as an evil, etc. But regardless of the means by which they are acquired, these weapons are evil.
6- AQ Khan won’t likely ever be released. I think the Pak gov’t is just waiting for him to pass on. Another one of Pakistan’s ‘heroes’ gone to waste. In the end we just have good old Edhi Sahib.