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M04895235

Abdul Qadeer Khan: The Father of

the Pakistani Nuclear Program
Abdul Qadeer Khan, also known as A. Q. Khan, was a key figure in Pakistans
atomic bomb program who later created the international, nuclear black market. He
was so well regarded by his country for his efforts that he has been referred to as a
demigod1. The government named a research lab in his honor, the Khan Research
Laboratories, and appointed him as head of the facility. Khan transitioned the world
to a new era of nuclear proliferation after the Cold War 2.

Khans Efforts on the Pakistani Nuclear Program

In response to Indias developing nuclear program, the leader of Pakistan at the
time, Prime Minister Bhutto, started his own nuclear program. He put Munir Ahmed
Khan (unrelated to A. Q. Khan) in charge. Munir Khan insisted on following the
plutonium route, which would reach a bomb faster. After a major setback to the
program, Prime Minister Bhutto appointed Abdul Qadeer Khan head of a parallel
nuclear project, focused on perfecting uranium enrichment. 3
Abdul Khan was aided two-fold in his secret nuclear project. First, his production
method was much easier to hide than the plutonium route. Second, Pakistan was
not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. This means he was able to
keep his lab doors closed to outside inspectors and Pakistan did not need to
announce its nuclear programs. This secrecy also helped Khan grow his nuclear
weapons trading network.4
Khan got his start on the nuclear program by obtaining two secret centrifuge
designs in an apparent theft. Over the next decade or so, Khan and his colleagues
began perfecting the uranium enrichment process. They published several papers
on the enrichment process. Eventually, the papers were published alongside sales
brochures, marking the beginning of the Khan Network. 5
1 William Langewiesche. The Wrath of Khan. Nov, 2005. The Atlantic.
2 David E. Sanger. The Khan Network. June, 2004. Stanford Institute for
International Studies.
3 William Langewiesche. The Wrath of Khan. Nov, 2005. The Atlantic.
4 David E. Sanger. The Khan Network. June, 2004. Stanford Institute for
International Studies.
5 David E. Sanger. The Khan Network. June, 2004. Stanford Institute for
International Studies.

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The Khan Network

In the mid-1980s, Khan starting covertly selling all pieces of the uranium
enrichment process to other nations. The pieces included design documents,
centrifuges, and even expert nuclear scientists. Libya was able to start its own
nuclear program with the help of Khan and his black market. Iran was also able to
start its own uranium-enrichment complex with the help of Khan. North Korea,
another rogue country, is believed to have received technology from Khan that lead
to uranium enrichment programs.6 Other customers include India, possibly Syria,
South Africa, and maybe more, sprawling over three continents. 7
Khan was a proponent of an Islamic bomb, despite his denials of a Pakistani nuclear
effort. Khans motivation for building the Pakistani bomb and spreading nuclear
proliferation was because he was upset by the Western worlds monopoly on
nuclear technology, and its apparent hypocrisy; the western countries paid close
attention to the Islamic nuclear programs, but had nothing to say about Israels
programs. He has claimed that the Western world is not only Pakistans enemy, but
it is also an enemy to all of Islam.8

Khan Exposed
The United States apparently had intelligence of Khans actions. The US knew of the
stolen designs that got the Khan network started, according to a State Department
memo. 9 The CIA started keeping tabs on Khan in the late 1970s. The CIA caught
Pakistan importing enrichment technology in 1979 and trying to export centrifuge
manufacturing equipment in 1980. The US outright accused Pakistan of producing
nuclear weapons in 1983; Khan denied all claims. 10
In 2004, the Khan network was exposed and dismantled thanks to tremendous
efforts by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the IAEA. Only about 10% of
the Khan Network members were indicted, however. Other networks have sprouted,
like heads of a hydra. 11 As long as there are scientists with access to sensitive

6 Robert Norris. Abdqul Qadeer Khan. Encyclopedia Britannica.

7 Albright, Stricker, Wood. Future World of Illicit Nuclear Trade. July, 2013. Page
14.
8 David E. Sanger. The Khan Network. June, 2004. Stanford Institute for
International Studies.
9 David E. Sanger. The Khan Network. June, 2004. Stanford Institute for
International Studies. Page 5.
10David E. Sanger. The Khan Network. June, 2004. Stanford Institute for
International Studies. Page 6-7.

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M04895235

nuclear material and buyers willing to pay, these networks will continue to be an
issue for nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
The Khan Network has showed that proliferation has moved on from the Cold War
era of proliferation. Countries no longer need to develop the technology on their
own. With transcontinental nuclear black markets, countries with enough money
can simply buy turn-key nuclear weapons production facilities. 12

11 Albright, Stricker, Wood. Future World of Illicit Nuclear Trade. July, 2013. Page
15.
12 Albright, Stricker, Wood. Future World of Illicit Nuclear Trade. July, 2013. Page
14