Khan Traveled to Almost 20 Countries Before 2004 Arrest in Nuclear Network Case, Investigators Say

Former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan traveled to 18 countries prior to his arrest in early 2004 for transferring nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, the New York Times reported last week (see GSN, Dec. 16, 2004).

During his travels, Khan went to a number of countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Tunisia, according to nuclear experts. Many of the countries Khan visited are Islamic and several are known to possess large quantities of uranium ore, the Times reported.

The United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency are still working to determine the scope of the international nuclear network revealed by Khan’s confession, according to the Times. The investigation has been hampered by disputes between the United States and the U.N. nuclear watchdog and by lack of direct access to Khan. Instead, investigators must submit questions through the Pakistani government; so far, they have received little information, the Times reported.

“Some questions simply were never answered,” a senior intelligence official said. “In other cases, you don’t know if you were getting Khan’s answer, or the answer the government wanted to hear.”

Among the unanswered questions are what countries besides Libya may have received nuclear weapons designs from Khan, according to the Times. While investigators suspect Iran and North Korea may have obtained such information, they do not have proof.

Other countries suspected of being Khan’s clients include Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Algeria, federal and private experts said.

Concerns remain that sections of Khan’s network may continue to operate, the Times reported.

“It may be more like al-Qaeda, where you cut off the leadership but new elements emerge,” one IAEA official said (Broad/Sanger, New York Times, Dec. 26, 2004).

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