The release from prison of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the so-called father of Pakistan's nuclear programme, after his five-year detention was challenged in court, promptly evoked strong reactions from the United States.

The spotlight has turned again on Dr Khan's alleged role in a nuclear proliferation racket within hours of his long-awaited freedom. While diplomatic consequences of this move are expected, the case says a lot about the current state of global political power.

The principle of might is right has often decided the end result of political controversies between different states and the beleaguered scientist's case proves this again coming just weeks after the recent Israeli incursion into Gaza.

Against this background, the charges of proliferation against him may indeed be taken seriously in the Western world but the assessment on the ground from Pakistan may well be significantly different.

In the hours after Dr Khan's release was ordered by Islamabad's high court, the popular reaction was very telling. His well-wishers rejoiced in different ways, from offering thanksgiving prayers to distributing traditional sweetmeats on the streets of Pakistani cities.

The celebratory mood on Friday was in sharp contrast to the widespread sense of dejection felt in early 2004 when Dr Khan was placed under house arrest after Pakistan's government officials accused him of selling nuclear knowhow and technology to Iran, North Korea and possibly Libya.

Just before being confined to his house, Dr Khan was also forced to deliver what appeared to be a humiliating statement on national television, effectively accepting his guilt.

But time and circumstances have proven that Dr Khan could not be pushed to the sidelines of history. In spite of the allegations against him, Dr Khan remains a popular and heroic figure across Pakistan, where many praise him for delivering Pakistan its first-ever nuclear bomb.

In 1998, Pakistan's decision to conduct its maiden nuclear tests, just three weeks after the second series of Indian nuclear tests, was widely attributed to Dr Khan's work over the previous 20 years. It was a culmination of a historical and a difficult journey for a largely agrarian country that had no big industrial base either.

Given that Pakistan's late prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had, after India's first nuclear tests in 1974, famously proclaimed that Pakistan would even eat grass to become a nuclear weapons state, the highlight of Dr Khan's achievements was that he had taken the country to the coveted goal without causing bankruptcy.

And while harsh criticism of his release from countries such as the United States will indeed generate new pressure on Pakistan, the reality is that there are many in Pakistan who recognise Dr Khan as a great pioneer.

Going forward, there are some important lessons to be taken from Dr Khan's case, not so much in the context of the legality of his deeds, or otherwise, but from the global environment that we all live in today.

Countries like the US will continue to push for tough safeguards against nuclear proliferation, the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki being the clinching argument. While nuclear weapons have not been used since, the horror of a nuclear exchange drives at least part of the global security debate. This is essentially where Dr Khan's case became a major source of global concern.

But there is another important side to this debate. In a world where big powers, notably the US, have caused much insecurity by their own actions, countries will continue to seek nuclear weapons as a credible deterrent.

Pakistan's determined effort to become a nuclear power was in fact directly tied to such insecurity in the years after 1971, when the former province of East Pakistan became the new state of Bangladesh after India's military intervention. It is not surprising that the architect of Pakistan's assured security through nuclear weapons on Friday found himself emerging from effective incarceration to the sounds of popular applause.

Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.


Your comments


This is in response to the comment by John Shuey. I personally have the opinion that USA, is the biggest disgrace in nuclear profileration. If US can allow Israel to have nuclear weapons, then the first people to stand trial should be the American government. There is not a single Arab country with nuclear power, yet Israel was "blessed" by hidden American Zionists.
Noman Al Haq
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 08, 2009, 16:16

I do not think this has anything to do with "Standing up for Science". I think Dr Khan is internationally recognised as a threat to continue his penchant for nuclear proliferation at a profit, perhaps even to terrorists. I think his release is a disgrace, but also a telling commentary on the perceived weakness of the new administration in Washington.
John Shuey
Texas,US
Posted: February 08, 2009, 02:35