Abdul Qadeer Khan Explains The Reasoning For Pakistan's Atomic Weapons Program

 

Abdul Q.  Khan ( 1936-2021) was the responsible for Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. He explains the reason that Pakistan needed nuclear weapons was a means to balance the power with India. India had a larger army, navy, and air force. Khan claims that in 1998 Pakistan was capable of making a nuclear strike on New Delhi. India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974. This alarmed Pakistan, so it sought to develop atomic weapons of its own. The defeat in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 made the country change its national security policy. The Khan Research Laboratories were established in 1976. By the end of the 20th century India, Pakistan, and China had nuclear weapons. Abdul Q. Khan was later accused of selling nuclear secrets to other nations. It was discovered that he sold secrets to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Nuclear proliferation among nations will continue to be an issue among various regions of the world. Khan was pardoned by Pervez Musharraf  in 2004. The more conservative political circles considered Khan a national hero. Others believe that nuclear power should be used for peaceful purposes, rather than military applications.