Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan

Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan

Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan’s nuclear hero is a scion of Bhopal state’s modest and a religious family. He was born in April 1936. His father Abdul Ghafoor Khan was an academician who retired from Education Department in 1935 and settled permanently in Bhopal. In 1952, Qadeer did his Matriculation and same year in the month of August, he migrated to Pakistan. At Karachi, he did his FSC from D.J. Science College and graduated from Karachi University. He proceeded to Germany in 1961 on a scholarship for higher studies in Metallurgy. In 1963-4, he moved to Holland and did his MSC with distinction in Physical Metallurgy from Technological University Defolt. In 1968, did his Doctorate in the same subject from Catholic University of Leon. In 1972, started his career as a Metallurgist at Physical Dynamic Research Laboratory (F.D.O) at Amsterdam. This gave him an opportunity to move onwards from an ‘unknown to a known’ that later made it possible for him to go for a big hunt in Nuclear Science. Before returning home in 1976, he had worked at the British, German and Dutch Urenco uranium enrichment facility in the Netherlands in the early seventies.

During Premier Bhutto’s regime he was entrusted with the job to organize Pakistan's nuclear programme that could give an answer to India in a befitting manner. He thus sowed real seeds of Pakistan’s nuclear programme on July 31 1976, when 'Engineering Research Laboratories', an autonomous organization was formed headed by Dr. Qadeer Khan who later emerged as an architect of Pakistan’s Nuclear prowess and also called as the father of Pakistan medium-range Ghauri and other Missiles.

Needless to say that credit goes to the great Khan that "in a record short span of six years, Pakistan was put on the nuclear map of the world and a solid foundation was laid for our self-sufficiency in future of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy."

‘He became the focus of attention after India exploded three nuclear devices on May 11 and two more on May 13, 1992 to which Pakistan gave an appropriate answer by exploding five Pakistani nuclear blasts on May 28, 1998 and at least one on the following day - a move that spurred jubilation at home and condemnation abroad, coupled with sanctions.’

It may be noted that Dr. Qadeer Khan was levelled with fake charges of nuclear espionage by the West so much so that a court in Amsterdam sentenced him in absentia in 1983 for four years in jail. Dr. Qadeer refutes much biased allegations of engaging forcefully himself in any sort of nuclear espionage. The court, however, later on, withdrew it’s baseless allegation when the Khan fought his case with vigour and determination.

The great Khan, the great hero, the great architect of Pakistan’s Nuclear technology deserves special gratitude of the people of Pakistan. We salute him.