Dr Khan provided nuclear parts to North Korea.
Did he do it as a Patriot-to get missile technology for Pakistan (or is he just a criminal trying to make money illegally??)
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
Pakistan is an independant country and Dr. Khan as its citizen has shared scientific knowledge and expertize with scientists working in other countries.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
It's pretty clear that this was an elaborate way for Pakistan to ensure key friendly states got nuclear technology in a deniable way.
Key partners like Iran and North Korea and Libya were provided technology with the full knowledge of successive Pakistani government. Dr Khan agreed to take full responsibility if busted, deny the government had anything to do with it, and in returned was guaranteed liberty and freedom my interference by western investigators forever.
Pakistan made significant missile technology advances through swapping nuclear technology with NK, and Pakistan has ensured that the most powerful neighbouring Muslim country has stayed relatively sweet towards Pakistan by providing Iran with the same.
Pakistan is better off as a result of these two situations and the sharing of nuclear technology, as long as it was done in a deniable way, clearly strengthened Pakistan's national security.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
i’m curious, is the above just a surmise, or has there been any real proof for what you say? beats me why a scientist would have to take the hit. could have easily pawned a diplomat if this were true instead of losing a valuable scientist.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
MS,
The deniability is dependent on Pakistan's utility to the US. Once the utility goes down, so will the deniability.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
A.Q.Khan is not a criminal since it doesn't look like he violated any laws of his country.
He is a villain against world peace for sure since he has done more to irresponsible proliferation than even the United States.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
It’s my personal theory, based on my surmise that Pakistan’s best interests lay with providing nuclear technology to the countries that he was accused of selling to.
Unfortunately, f Bhutti, Sharif or Musharraf’s governments were blamed by the West (and these sales have been going on during both democratic and military regimes) then Pakistan would suffer as a result. Therefore, in order to look after Pakistan’s best interest a believable fall guy was require. I guess that AQ was approached and asked to play this role.
The Pakistani establishment’s reaction , both the PPP (or the PPPP) , and the PML factions in opposition and power, have all been remarkably silent on the AQ issue. To me, this suggests that they were in it from the very beginning. Watch… once Musharraf is eventually gone, no succeeding administration be it democratic or autocratic, will lift a finger against Dr. Khan.
He took the hit so that Pakistan could carry out its agenda of providing its allies the means to defend against any aggression.
A diplomat would be less believable, because what manner of diplomat would have access to such secrets? Also, whoever volunteered to be the fall guy had to be someone who was such a hero to the Pakistani people that a Pakistani government could claim that surrendering him would seriously threaten national stability & security.
In short, Pakistan needed someone who could not be surrendered, because of a plausible fear that surrendering him vould make a “bad” situation worse.
There was only one such suitable man in all of Pakistan. To me, it is no coincidence that he’s the one blamed for this.
This whole incident has been nothing but a diplomatic masterstroke for Pakistan. Pakistan has managed to exchange nuclear technology for missile technology with North Korea, and nuclear technology for closer ties with Iran, and managed to get away with it without even so much as a slap on the wrist.
Any demands to punish AQ are met with a shrug of the shoulders and the believable claim that that would destabilise Pakistan and thus do more harm than any proliferation so far.
The whole thing worked out so well for Pakistan that it cannot be just the actions of a single man acting from greed. This was a well thought out conspiracy that protected Pakistan’s best interests, with no casualty other than one scientist’s honour in the west, though he remains a hero at home where it counts.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
Does anyone know who created the Chinese A-Bomb? Or, name of Israeli scientist responsible for its nuclear capability? Why was the Pakistani scientist center of public adulation and then running proliferation on his own bank account?
Problem with Khan Sahib was his penchant for headlines, he was extremely image conscious and paid millions to build his public personna. Revealations from Iran and Libya pointed directly towards Khan sahib who had no qualms in using his own name and banking accounts for transactions related to transfer of technology. Did he gain personally is the question we Pakistanis should be asking, if he did then there is something very wrong. If this was all just a charade to protect Paki interest and nuclear installations then why would Iran and Libya finger AQ Khan? Trail left by this man and his machinery is not yet public but what we gather from George Tenets testimony and Mushy's speeches its quite clear this man had reached out beyond his line of duty to acquire wealth and power.
We all have our respect for AQ Khan for his contributions to Pak nuclear program, so much so we held him right up there with the founding fathers. Even now, given the first opportunity we would like to believe his version, but till new information does not surface which is not part of an elaborate conspiracy theory we will have to depened upon statements and evidence provided by the buyers and investigators.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
I agree with mad scientist and share the same view
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
Totaly agree with maddy :k:
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
khan himself admitted his irrational judgement in pak tv and asked for pardon.
he already accepted he made a mistake and reaslised it will no way help pakistan
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
All part of the act.
What kind of country would allow a man to keep the money he made from selling that country’s national secrets?
No, Dr. Khan was financially well compensated for being willing to be the fall guy. Once “busted”, he was allowed to keep all of the money because that must have been the deal he had all along with successive Pakistani governments.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
he did with govermant approval that everybody knew . now it has been stopped.
his apologies are also govermants indirect apology and acceptance of this irational
policy.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
Those involved in this nuclear trade are many, not just A.Q.Khan,mostly Army, who control the nukes.
To say they did this for technology trade, there may be a small element of truth in that, that may be how these ideas started, but that ignores the fact that that these deals also landed all those involved with many,many millions/billions.More than even other corrupt dealings in Pak.
They offered to countries where they would not have got any technology in return, just lots of money, like Libya...and please don't say they did this to help Muslim countries, that is just naive.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
North Korea isn’t Muslim.
The deals were done for political reasons, not religious. North Korea most likely gave us missile technology in exchange, which was something that pakistan desperrately needed but the USA and UN were preventing countries from giving us. In North Korea we found a partner willing to defy the USA and UN.
In Iran, Pakistan had a regime that needed to ke kept sweet to Pakistan and was regarded as a potential strategic partner - witness recent arms deals, and Iran’s refusal to even discuss a gas pipeline to India unless it went through Pakistan. Nuclear technology was traded to Iran in order to quickly swing Iran towards being friendly with Pakistan.
As for Libya - whatever Pakistan’s ambitions there were, they were foiled by the premature revelation of the Libyan programme.
All these sales, which would greatly benefit Pakistan, were began going on under previous, democratic regimes. While Bhutto and Sharif were busy looting Pakistan, they at least had the sense to share Pakistan’s nuclear technology with key nations for national gain.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
Actually if any of you had read the latest IAEA report the "yellow cake" that is linked to Pakistan is so low grade that it is impossible to say that it was in anyway linked to Pakistan. What i find very interesting is that the Chinese and Russians though very much mentioned in the IAEA report are not mentioned in the media.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
but they paki govt humiliated him just to save there skin. I dont think he needed money , he was a scientist had devoted his life for a cause , to help his country.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
The humilation came at the hands of the pathetic media we have in our country. Bunch of traitors the lot of them.
Re: Dr Khan-patriot or criminal
khan humilated himself and his country by his actions - why blame media or anything else? Should find better heros than AQK, Osama and the like