Khan Confesses to Transferring Pakistani Nuclear Technology to Iran, Libya, North Korea

The “father” of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, has signed a confession acknowledging that he provided Iran, Libya and North Korea with designs and technology to produce uranium enrichment equipment, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 30).

In a briefing last night for Pakistani journalists, a senior Pakistani official described Khan’s involvement in providing the three countries with nuclear weapons-related technology, according to the Times. According to the senior official, between 1989 and 1991 Khan transferred weapons-related designs and components to Iran, said three journalists present at last night’s briefing. In addition, the official said that Khan transferred weapons technology to Libya and North Korea between 1991 and 1997, the journalists said.

The senior official said all nuclear transfers stopped after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf established the Nuclear Command Authority, which oversees Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, in 2002. U.S. officials, however, believe that Pakistani-origin transfers to Libya continued until four months ago, according to the Times. 

The senior official also said that Khan had confessed that he shared the technology because he believed that the emergence of additional nuclear weapons states would help ease Western attention on Pakistan, and because it would help the Muslim cause.

The official said that the Pakistani military and intelligence community had been unaware of Khan’s activities.

“There were intelligence lapses on our part, and we admit to them,” the official said, according to the journalists who attended the meeting. “We should not have allowed this loose administrative and security system to have prevailed,” the official said (Rohde/Sanger, New York Times, Feb. 2).

A senior Pakistani official said today, though, that Khan has claimed that the aid he provided to North Korea occurred with the knowledge and approval of the military.

Khan’s written confession also says that three other scientists — Mohammed Farooq and two others — had aided him, a senior official said (Lancaster/Khan, Washington Post, Feb. 2).

On Saturday, Khan was removed from his position as special adviser to Pakistan’s prime minister — a move some analysts said was a signal of the seriousness of Khan’s activities.

“It suggests that there is something serious against him,” said Rasul Baksh Rais, a professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences. “That Dr. Khan is no longer in the same esteem and respect of the government of Pakistan and he has done something really serious against the interests of Pakistan,” Rais said (David Rohde, New York Times, Feb. 1).

The removal of Khan from his post resulted in criticism from opposition lawmakers, according to the London Telegraph.

“It is the ultimate insult to the people of Pakistan,” said Senator Saadia Abbasi, of exiled former President Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League. ‘The entire nation feels humiliated over the treatment being meted out to a national hero by the government,” Abbasi said (Ahmed Rashid, London Telegraph, Feb. 2).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.