Pakistan's Ailing Nuclear Father
Farhan Bokhari, a reporter based in Islamabad, Pakistan, wrote this piece for CBSNews.com.
News that Pakistan's best-known nuclear scientist is suffering from prostate cancer has triggered a sharp divide between the country's pro-U.S. military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and the political opposition.
Abdul Qadeer Khan, 70, the so-called father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb project, has been under house arrest for more than two years since he acknowledged selling nuclear knowhow and technology to Iran. Khan was officially pardoned from formal prosecution by Musharraf, who recognized his pivotal role in helping Pakistan become a nuclear state. But he has not been allowed to meet visitors freely.
Though U.S. officials have suspected Khan of dealing with Libya and North Korea, it's his dealings with Iran that have been of most interest to nuclear proliferation experts. Khan's case has been internationally publicized; Western diplomats have suspected him of being a key player in the global nuclear arms bazaar.
His cancer was confirmed Wednesday by the Pakistani government. Ironically, the announcement coincided with continuing diplomatic anxieties driven by ongoing confrontation between the Bush administration and its European allies versus Iran over the latter's nuclear ambitions.
Khan is suspected of selling nuclear centrifuges to Iran, which at one point may have helped Tehran promote its nuclear ambitions. Past requests from the United States for its investigators to seek direct interviews with Khan have been denied, according to Pakistani officials.
According to U.S. officials, the Iranian response to a proposal by the European Union and the United states for solving tensions over Iran's nuclear program is inadequate. The Bush administration has backed proposals for a full and verifiable suspension of Iran's work related to nuclear development.
Iran, meanwhile, has offered to hold "serious" negotiations on the subject without agreeing to a suspension. Tehran has refused to accept a U.N. resolution that would give it till Aug. 31 to suspend its enrichment of uranium.
"Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan is being killed slowly, it is a shame" claimed Tehmina Daultana, leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League party, during a session of the national assembly — the lower house of parliament. Her remarks echo sentiment on the streets of Pakistan, where many praise Khan as a national hero but say he is kept in custody under pressure from the United States.
"It's America which is against our nuclear program. It's America which doesn't want other Muslim countries to be strong militarily. America will not stop Israel from having nuclear bombs, but it opposes good people like Abdul Qadeer Khan" said Aslam Malik, a taxi driver in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital.
"A team of well-trained doctors are attending to him. We will do everything possible to provide the best possible care for him" said Muhammad Ali Durrani, the government's minister of information.
Western diplomats say the case could trigger an intense round of charges and countercharges between the government and the opposition.
"This is one of those cases which draws out intense expressions of nationalism in this country. Few Pakistanis have been as widely respected as Abdul Qadeer Khan," said one Western diplomat, who asked not to be identified.
Opposition leaders such as Daultana are demanding that Khan be allowed to meet with opposition leaders for their firsthand assessment of his condition. But Pakistani officials say there are no plans to change the terms of his detention.
"The charges against Dr. Khan brought Pakistan's credibility to a huge disrepute in the Western world. Unless there is some settlement to the Iran case, I don't think we can allow him freedom of movement and risk seeing him surrounded by new charges of dealings similar to his past dealings" said one senior Pakistani government official.