View source for Abdul Qadeer Khan

{{Short description|Pakistani nuclear physicist (1936–2021)}}
{{For|the cricketer named Abdul Qadeer Khan|Abdul Qadir (cricketer)}}
{{Pp-move-indef}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Abdul Qadeer Khan
| honorific_suffix    = [[Nishan-i-Imtiaz|NI & BAR]] [[Hilal-i-Imtiaz|HI]] [[Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences|FPAS]]
| native_name         = {{Nastaliq |ڈاکٹر عبدالقدیر خان}}
| native_name_lang    = ur
| image               = Abdul Qadeer Khan (cropped2).jpg
| image_size          = 
| image_upright       = 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Khan in 2017
| birth_name          = <!-- if different from "name" -->
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1936|4|1}}
| birth_place         = [[Bhopal]], [[Bhopal State]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2021|10|10|1936|4|1|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Islamabad]], Pakistan
| resting_place_coordinates = Islamabad Graveyard H-8, Islamabad {{coord|33|41|11.7|N|73|3|52.5|E}}
| home_town           = 
| siglum              = 
| pronounce           = 
| nationality         = Pakistani
| patrons             = 
| education           = 
| alma_mater          = [[University of Karachi]]<br/>[[Delft University of Technology]]<br/>[[Catholic University of Louvain]]<br/>[[D. J. Sindh Government Science College]]<ref name="arynews"/>
| academic_advisors   = 
| doctoral_students   = 
| notable_students    = 
| known_for           = [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|Pakistan's nuclear weapons program]], [[gaseous diffusion]], [[martensite]] and [[graphene morphology]]
| influences          = 
| influenced          = 
| awards              = [[File:Nishan-e-Imtiaz Ribbon.png|27px]] [[Nishan-e-Imtiaz|Nishan-i-Imtiaz]] (1996; 1999)<br/>[[File:Nishan-e-Imtiaz Ribbon.png|27px]] [[Hilal-e-Imtiaz|Hilal-i-Imtiaz]] (1989)
| author_abbrev_bot   = 
| author_abbrev_zoo   = 
| spouse              = {{marriage|Hendrina Reterink|1963}}
| partner             = <!--(or | partners = )-->
| children            = 2
| signature           = <!--(filename only)-->
| signature_alt       = 
| website             = {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20190710023836/http://www.draqkhan.com.pk/|draqkhan.com.pk (archived)}}
| footnotes           = 
| office              = [[Ministry of Science and Technology (Pakistan)#Science Advisors|Science Advisor to the Presidential Secretariat]]
| term_start          = 1 January 2001
| term_end            = 31 January 2004
| predecessor         = [[Ishfaq Ahmad]]
| successor           = [[Atta-ur-Rahman (chemist)|Atta-ur-Rahman]]
| president           = [[Pervez Musharraf]]
| party               = [[Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Pakistan]]<br/>{{small|(2012–2013)}}
| module              = {{infobox scientist 
| embed = yes
| thesis_title      = The effect of morphology on the strength of copper-based martensites
| thesis_url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=epaAnQEACAAJ
| thesis_year       = 1972
| doctoral_advisor  = Martin J. Brabers<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/aq-khan/2 |title=The Wrath of Khan |work=The Atlantic |date=4 February 2004 |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-date=14 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514021521/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/aq-khan/2 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| fields            = [[Metallurgical engineering]]
| workplaces        = [[Khan Research Laboratories]]<br/>[[Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology|GIK Institute of Technology]]<br/>[[Hamdard University]]<br/>[[Urenco Group]]}}
}}
'''Abdul Qadeer Khan'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Abdul Qadeer Khan from Pakistan pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg|ˈ|ɑː|b|d|əl|_|ˈ|k|ɑː|d|ɪər|_|'|k|ɑː|n}} {{respell|AHB|dəl|_|KAH|deer|_|KAHN}}; {{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|عبد القدیر خان}}}}}} {{post-nominal styles|post-noms=[[Nishan-i-Imtiaz|NI & BAR]], [[Hilal-i-Imtiaz|HI]], [[Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences|FPAS]]}} (1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021)<ref>{{Britannica|1009243}}</ref> was a Pakistani [[Nuclear physics|nuclear physicist]] and [[metallurgist|metallurgical engineer]]. He is colloquially known as the "father of [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|Pakistan's atomic weapons program]]".{{Efn|Though other people such as [[Munir Ahmad Khan]] and [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] have also been accorded that title.<ref>{{cite web| last =(IISS)| first =International Institute for Strategic Studies| author-link =International Institute for Strategic Studies| title =Bhutto was father of Pakistan's Atom Bomb Programme| publisher =International Institute for Strategic Studies| url =http://www.iiss.org/whats-new/iiss-in-the-press/press-coverage-2007/may-2007/bhutto-was-father-of-pakistani-bomb/?locale=en| date =1 May 2007| access-date =1 May 2011| archive-date =14 March 2012| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120314025504/http://www.iiss.org/whats-new/iiss-in-the-press/press-coverage-2007/may-2007/bhutto-was-father-of-pakistani-bomb/?locale=en}}</ref> Khan has also been titled ''Mohsin-e-Pakistan'' ({{lit|Protector of Pakistan}}) by the local media.<ref name="arynews" /><ref name="PakObserver" />}}

A  [[Muhajir (Pakistan)|Muhajir]] emigrant from India who migrated to Pakistan in 1952, Khan was educated in the metallurgical engineering departments of Western European technical universities where he pioneered studies in [[phase transitions]] of [[alloy|metallic alloys]], [[uranium metallurgy]], and [[isotope separation]] based on [[gas centrifuges]]. After learning of India's "[[Smiling Buddha]]" nuclear test in 1974, Khan joined his nation's clandestine efforts to develop [[atomic weapons]] when he founded the [[Khan Research Laboratories]] (KRL) in 1976 and was both its chief scientist and director for many years.

In January 2004, Khan was subjected to a debriefing by the [[Pervez Musharraf#Chief Executive of Pakistan|Musharraf administration]] over evidence of [[nuclear proliferation]] network selling to [[Iran and nuclear weapons|Iran]], [[North Korea and nuclear weapons|North Korea]], [[Libya and nuclear technology|Libya]], and others, handed to them by the [[George W. Bush Administration|Bush administration]] of the United States.<ref>{{cite news |title=A.Q. Khan & Iran |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/khan-iran.htm |access-date=24 November 2014 |publisher=Global Security |archive-date=24 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024172200/http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/khan-iran.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Chronology: A.Q. Khan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/world/asia/16chron-khan.html |access-date=24 November 2014 |work=The New York Times |date=16 April 2006 |archive-date=27 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327030026/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/world/asia/16chron-khan.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Khan admitted his role in running this network&nbsp;– only to retract his statements in later years when he levelled accusations at the [[Benazir Bhutto#Domestic and foreign policy|former administration]] of Pakistan's Prime Minister [[Benazir Bhutto]] in 1990, and also directed allegations at President Musharraf over the controversy in 2008.<ref name="eit 27723085">{{cite news |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-07-06/news/27723085_1_aq-khan-nuclear-proliferation-nuclear-technology |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502205313/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-07-06/news/27723085_1_aq-khan-nuclear-proliferation-nuclear-technology |archive-date=2 May 2013 |work=The Times of India |title=Mush helped proliferate N-technology: AQ Khan |date=6 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/khan.htm |title=AQ Khan |publisher=Global Security}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rashid |first1=Ahmed |title=Pakistan in the Brink |date=2012 |publisher=Allen Lane |isbn=978-1-84614-585-8 |pages=60–61}}</ref> Khan was accused of selling nuclear secrets illegally and was put under house arrest in 2004. After years of house arrest, Khan successfully filed a lawsuit against the [[Federal Government of Pakistan|Government of Pakistan]] at the [[Islamabad High Court]] whose verdict declared his debriefing unconstitutional and freed him from house arrest on 6 February 2009.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://geo.tv/2-6-2009/34508.htm |title=IHC declares Dr A Q Khan a free citizen |publisher=GEO.tv |date=6 February 2009 |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415014529/http://www.geo.tv/2-6-2009/34508.htm |archive-date=15 April 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rashid |first1=Ahmed |title=Pakistan in the Brink |date=2012 |publisher=Allen Lane |isbn=978-1-84614-585-8 |pages=63–64}}</ref> The United States reacted negatively to the verdict and the [[Obama administration]] issued an official statement warning that Khan still remained a "serious proliferation risk".<ref>
{{Cite news |last=Warrick |first=Joby |author-link=Joby Warrick |title=Nuclear Scientist A.Q. Khan Is Freed From House Arrest |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=7 February 2009 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/06/AR2009020603730.html |access-date=2 October 2016}}</ref>

On account of the knowledge of nuclear espionage by Khan and his contribution to nuclear proliferation throughout the world post-1970s, and the renewed fear of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists after the [[September 11 attacks]], former [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] Director [[George Tenet]] described Khan as "at least as dangerous as [[Osama bin Laden]]".<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 October 2021 |title=AQ Khan: The most dangerous man in the world? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58857827 |access-date=11 October 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=ڈاکٹر عبدالقدیر خان: کیا پاکستان کے جوہری سائنسدان دنیا کے سب سے خطرناک آدمی تھے؟ |url=https://www.bbc.com/urdu/world-58866410 |access-date=11 October 2024 |work=BBC News اردو |language=ur}}</ref> After his death on 10 October 2021, he was given a [[state funeral]] at [[Faisal Mosque]] before being buried at the [[H-8, Islamabad|H-8]] graveyard in [[Islamabad]].

==Early life and education==
Abdul Qadeer Khan was born on 1 April 1936, in [[Bhopal]], a city in the erstwhile [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British Indian]] [[princely state]] of [[Bhopal State|Bhopal]]. He was a [[Mahajir (Pakistan)|Muhajir]] of [[Urdu-speaking]] origin.<ref name="Orakzai">{{Cite AV media |title=Dr Abdul Qadeer khan Share his Experience Must Watch |publisher=Riphah TV |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZZkntprUeo&t=270 |access-date=30 July 2020 |via=YouTube|date=25 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="Khybernews">{{cite news|url=https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4383804548404515&id=618941424890865/|title=Overview of Dr.Abdul Qadeer Khan's Life|work=[[Khyber News]]}}</ref><ref name="arynews">{{cite news|url=https://arynews.tv/dr-abdul-qadeer-khans-life-birth-anniversary/|title=Overview of Dr.Abdul Qadeer Khan's Life on his 83rd Birth Anniversary|date=1 April 2019|access-date=19 September 2021|work=[[ARY News]]|archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010113531/https://arynews.tv/dr-abdul-qadeer-khans-life-birth-anniversary/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="PakObserver">{{cite news|url=https://pakobserver.net/tribute-to-dr-a-q-khan/|title=Tribute to Dr A Q Khan|date=2 April 2021|access-date=19 September 2021|work=[[Pakistan Observer]] |archive-date=10 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010113532/https://pakobserver.net/tribute-to-dr-a-q-khan/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dailymotion">{{Cite web |date=28 May 2013 |title=Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan faces discrimination because he is a Mohajir & not considered Son of Soil - video Dailymotion |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10arth |access-date=18 April 2022 |website=Dailymotion |language=en}}</ref> He claimed maternal [[Yusufzai]] lineage from [[Tirah|Tirah Valley]] while from his paternal side, his ancestor was an [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] soldier who came to India with [[Muhammad of Ghor]], the 12th century conqueror; this ancestral reason inspired Khan to later name a ballistic missile the ''[[Ghauri (missile)|Ghauri]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahmed |first=Khaled |date=27 November 2010 |title=Scientists, our kind |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/82698/scientists-our-kind?amp=1 |website=[[The Express Tribune]] |quote=He wrote in Jang that his ancestors came down from Tirah in Khyber Agency and settled in Bhopal in central India. His mother was from Tirah while his father was an Uzbek who came to India with Sultan Shahabuddin Ghauri and defeated the Hindu Rajput ruler, Prithvi Raj. Dr Khan cleverly named his missile Ghauri after India named its missile Prithvi!}}</ref> In 1994-1995, Khan would have a mausoleum built over Ghori's grave situated in [[Dhamiak]] village around 80 kilometres from [[Islamabad]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yasin |first=Aamir |date=8 October 2017 |title=The tomb of the man who conquered Delhi |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1362383 |website=[[Dawn News]]}}</ref>

His father, Abdul Ghafoor, was a schoolteacher who once worked for the [[Ministry of Education (India)|Ministry of Education]], and his mother, Zulekha, was a housewife with a very religious mindset.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/world/asia/16chron-khan.html |title=Chronology: A.Q. Khan |date=16 April 2006 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=21 February 2017 |archive-date=27 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327030026/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/world/asia/16chron-khan.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His older siblings, along with other family members, had emigrated to Pakistan during the [[partition of India]] in 1947, who would often write to Khan's parents about the new life they had found in Pakistan.<ref name="Story of Pakistan Press Foundation">{{cite web |title=Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan |url=http://storyofpakistan.com/dr-abdul-qadeer-khan/ |website=storyofpakistan.com |publisher=Story of Pakistan Press Foundation |access-date=22 January 2015 |location=Islamabad |page=1 |date=17 October 2013 |archive-date=22 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122053223/http://storyofpakistan.com/dr-abdul-qadeer-khan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

After his [[matriculation]] from a local school in Bhopal, in 1952 Khan emigrated from [[India]] to Pakistan on the [[Sind Mail]] train, partly due to the [[Reservation in India|reservation politics]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ansari |first1=Iqbal Ahmad |title=Political representation of Muslims in India, 1952-2004 |date=2006 |publisher=Manak Publications |location=New Delhi, India |isbn=978-81-7827-130-9 |page=418 |edition=1st}}</ref>{{rp|254}} at that time, and [[religious violence in India]] during his youth had left an indelible impression on his world view.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-mysterious-world-of-pakistans-dr-strangelove-68030.html |title=The mysterious world of Pakistan's Dr Strangelove |website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=7 February 2004 |access-date=7 May 2018 |archive-date=6 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406232512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-mysterious-world-of-pakistans-dr-strangelove-68030.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Upon settling in [[Karachi]] with his family, Khan briefly attended the [[D. J. Science College]] before transferring to the [[University of Karachi]], where he graduated in 1956 with a [[Bachelor of Science]] (BSc) in [[physics]] with a concentration on [[solid-state physics]].<ref name="Harvard University Press, Bernstein, 2014">
{{cite book |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jeremy |title=Nuclear Iran |date=2014 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=United States |isbn=978-0-674-74456-1 |pages=66–67 |chapter=§Unintended Consequences}}</ref><!---- Biographical periodicals, political magazines, and other biographical sites incorrectly stated that he gained BSc in Metallurgy from Karachi University; the university had never offered metallurgy program since its establishment. The KU's physics department has an award named in his honour and lists him as an [[alumnus]]. Author J. Bernstein confirmed it in page 66-67 in his book, Nuclear Iran, pp.66–67. ISBN 067474456X --><ref name="Karachi University Press">{{cite web |title=Karachi University Physics Department alumni |url=http://www.uok.edu.pk/faculties/physics/ |publisher=Karachi University |access-date=22 January 2015 |archive-date=22 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122050401/http://www.uok.edu.pk/faculties/physics/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

From 1956 to 1959, Khan was employed by the [[Karachi Metropolitan Corporation]] ([[city government]]) as an inspector of weights and measures. During this time, he applied for a [[scholarship]] that allowed him to study in [[West Germany]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3343621.stm |title=Profile: Abdul Qadeer Khan |date=20 February 2004 |via=BBC News |access-date=3 August 2006 |archive-date=27 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627003028/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3343621.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="pakistanileaders.com.pk">{{cite web |url=http://www.pakistanileaders.com.pk/profile/Abdul_Qadeer_Khan |title=Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, Founder and Ex-Chairman Dr. A Q Khan Research Laboratories |work=Pakistanileaders |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929021014/http://www.pakistanileaders.com.pk/profile/Abdul_Qadeer_Khan |archive-date=29 September 2010 }}</ref> In 1961, Khan departed for West Germany to study [[material science]] at the [[Technical University Berlin|Technical University]] in [[West Berlin]], where he academically excelled in courses in metallurgy, but left West Berlin when he switched to the [[Delft University of Technology]] in the [[Netherlands]] in 1965.<ref name="Story of Pakistan Press Foundation"/>

In 1962, while on vacation in [[The Hague]], he met Hendrina "Henny" Reterink, a British passport holder who had been born in South Africa to Dutch expatriates. She spoke [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and had spent her childhood in Africa before returning with her parents to the Netherlands where she lived as a registered foreigner. In 1963, he married Henny in a modest [[Marriage in Islam|Muslim ceremony]] at Pakistan's embassy in The Hague. Khan and Henny together had two daughters, Dina Khan - who is a doctor, and Ayesha Khan.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Langewiesche |first1=William |title=The Wrath of Khan |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/11/the-wrath-of-khan/304333/ |work=[[The Atlantic]] |date=November 2005 |access-date=10 October 2021 |archive-date=12 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912113331/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/11/the-wrath-of-khan/4333/3/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Britannica|id=1009243}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 November 2021 |title=PID |url=http://pid.gov.pk/site/press_detail/18249 |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=Press Information Department}}</ref>

In 1967, Khan obtained an [[engineer's degree]] in [[materials technology]]&nbsp;– an equivalent to a [[Master of Science]] (MS) offered in [[English-speaking nations]] such as Pakistan&nbsp;– and joined the [[doctoral studies|doctoral program]] in metallurgical engineering at the [[KU Leuven|Katholieke Universiteit Leuven]] in Belgium.<ref name="guardian 2009-02-06">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/06/pakistani-scientist-abdul-qadeer-khan |title=Profile: Abdul Qadeer Khan |first=Owen |last=Bowcott |date=6 February 2009 |website=The Guardian |access-date=19 June 2018 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612232859/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/06/pakistani-scientist-abdul-qadeer-khan |url-status=live }}</ref> He worked under Belgian professor Martin J. Brabers at [[Katholieke Universiteit Leuven|Leuven University]], who supervised his [[doctoral thesis]] which Khan successfully defended, and graduated with a [[Doctor of Engineering|DEng]] in [[metallurgical engineering]] in 1972.<ref name="guardian 2009-02-06" /> His thesis included fundamental work on [[martensite]] and its extended industrial applications in the field of [[graphene morphology]].<ref>
{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Khan |first=Abdul Qadeer |date=March 1972 |title=The effect of morphology on the strength of copper-based martensites |publisher=Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Leuven |place=Leuven, Belgium |degree=Doctor of Engineering |others=thesis prepared under the supervision of Professor Martin J. Brabers}}</ref>

==Career in Europe==
In 1972, Khan joined the Physics Dynamics Research Laboratory (or in [[Dutch language|Dutch]]: FDO), an engineering firm subsidiary of [[Stork B.V.|Verenigde Machinefabrieken]] (VMF) based in [[Amsterdam]], from Brabers's recommendation.<ref name="Printwise Publications">{{Citation |last=Rehman |first=Shahidur|title=Long Road to Chagai |place=Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory |publisher=Printwise Publications |date=May 1999 |chapter=§Dr. A. Q. Khan: Nothing Succeed like Success |pages=47–60 |isbn=969-8500-00-6 }}</ref> The FDO was a subcontractor for Ultra-Centrifuge Nederland of the, British-German-Dutch [[uranium enrichment]] consortium, [[Urenco Group|URENCO]] which was operating a uranium enrichment plant in [[Almelo]] and employed [[Gas centrifuge|gaseous centrifuge]] method to assure a supply of nuclear fuel for [[Nuclear power in the Netherlands|nuclear power plants in the Netherlands]].<ref>{{harv|Bernstein|2008|pp=51–52}}</ref> Soon after, Khan left FDO when URENCO offered him a senior technical position, initially conducting studies on uranium metallurgy.<ref name="ABC Publishing House, Khan, 1987">{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Abdul Qadeer |editor1-last=Sreedhar |editor1-first=VVS |title=Dr. A.Q. Khan on Pakistan Bomb |date=1987 |publisher=ABC Publishing House |location=Islamabad |page=180 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nCu5AAAAIAAJ&q=a+q+khan+uranium+metallurgy |access-date=2 July 2020 |language=en-us |format=google books |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528172753/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dr_A_Q_Khan_on_Pakistan_Bomb/nCu5AAAAIAAJ?gbpv=1&bsq=a+q+khan+uranium+metallurgy&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|87}}

Uranium enrichment is an extremely difficult process because [[natural uranium|uranium in its natural state]] is composed of just 0.71% of [[uranium-235]] (U<sup>235</sup>), which is a [[fissile material]], 99.3% of [[uranium-238]] (U<sup>238</sup>), which is non-fissile, and 0.0055% of [[uranium-234]] (U<sup>234</sup>), a [[Decay product|daughter product]] which is also a non-fissile.<ref name="UNU publication on metallurgy">{{cite web |title=The technology of mining and metallurgy |url=http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu29me/uu29me08.htm |website=archive.unu.edu |publisher=UNU publication on metallurgy |access-date=2 July 2020 |archive-date=2 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702041027/http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu29me/uu29me08.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The URENCO Group utilised the [[Zippe-type centrifuge|Zippe-type]] of centrifugal method to [[Electromagnetic isotope separation|electromagnetically separate]] the [[Isotopes of uranium|isotopes]] U<sup>234</sup>, U<sup>235</sup>, and U<sup>238</sup> from [[Sublimation (phase transition)|sublimed]] raw uranium<!---Note: Natural uranium, a solid, goes through a sublimation phase at 56.5 °C boiling point at 1 atm and mixed with chlorine trifluoride acid that forms the uranium hexafluoride, which is then fed into an enrichment process.-------> by [[Rotational dynamics|rotating]] the [[uranium hexafluoride]] (UF<sub>6</sub>) gas at up to ~100,000 [[revolutions per minute]] (rpm).<ref name="Printwise Publications"/>{{rp|49}} Khan, whose work was based on [[physical metallurgy]] of the uranium metal,<ref name="ABC Publishing House, Khan, 1987"/>{{rp|87}} eventually dedicated his investigations to improving the efficiency of the centrifuges by 1973–74.<ref name="Stanford University Press" />{{rp|140}}

[[Frits Veerman]], Khan's colleague at FDO, uncovered [[nuclear espionage]] at Almelo where Khan had stolen designs of the centrifuges from URENCO for the nuclear weapons programme of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=In de ban van de bom |last=Bromet |first=Frans |type=Television documentary |language=nl |year=2021}}</ref> Veerman became aware of the espionage when Khan had taken classified URENCO documents home to be copied and translated by his Dutch-speaking wife and had asked Veerman to photograph some of them.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kuper |first=Simon |date=24 July 2020 |title=Nuclear secrets: the Dutch whistleblower who tried to stop Pakistan's bomb |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |url=https://www.ft.com/content/be09ba7c-b0d8-45e4-aff8-bf01b4aa558e |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/be09ba7c-b0d8-45e4-aff8-bf01b4aa558e |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |author-link=Simon Kuper}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Bhatia |first=Shyam |author-link=Shyam Bhatia |date=29 January 2004 |title=Ex-colleague spills beans on A Q Khan |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2004/jan/29spec.htm |website=[[Rediff.com]]}}</ref> In 1975, Khan was transferred to a less sensitive section when URENCO became suspicious and he subsequently returned to Pakistan with his wife and two daughters. Khan was sentenced [[Trial in absentia|in absentia]] to four years in prison in 1983 by the Netherlands for espionage but the conviction was later overturned due to a [[legal technicality]].<ref name="Routledge, Spector, 2019" /> [[Ruud Lubbers]], [[Prime Minister of the Netherlands]] at the time, later said that the [[General Intelligence and Security Service]] (BVD) was aware of Khan's espionage activities but he was allowed to continue due to pressure from the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], with the US backing Pakistan during the [[Cold War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Atoomspionage voor Pakistan. Parlementaire enquête lijkt echt op zijn plaats |url=https://www.sdnl.nl/atoomspionage.htm |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=sdnl.nl}}</ref><ref>[https://www.vpro.nl/speel.POMS_VPRO_2406741.html De zaak van atoomspion Kan (aflevering 4)]. ''[[Argos (radio program)|Argos]].'' 9 August 2005. [[VPRO|Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160625041427/http://www.vpro.nl/speel.POMS_VPRO_2406741.html Archived] on 25 June 2016.</ref> This was also highlighted when despite Archie Pervez (Khan's associate for nuclear procurement in the US) being convicted in 1988, no action was taken against Khan or his proliferation network by the US government which needed the support of Pakistan during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Pervez Case and Reagan Administration Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy, 1987 |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb446/ |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=[[National Security Archive]]}}</ref>

{{Ill|Henk Slebos|lt=|nl}}, a Dutch engineer and businessman who had studied metallurgy with Khan at the Delft University of Technology, continued providing goods needed for enriching uranium to Khan in Pakistan through his company Slebos Research. Slebos was sentenced in 1985 to one year in prison but the sentence was reduced on appeal in 1986 to six months of probation and a fine of 20,000 guilders. Though Slebos continued to export goods to Pakistan and was again sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of around {{€|100,000|link=yes}} was imposed on his company.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150218191710/http://zembla.vara.nl/seizoenen/2005/afleveringen/07-11-2005 De Nederlandse atoombom]. [[Zembla (TV series)|''Zembla'']]. 7 November 2005. [[Omroepvereniging VARA]].</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Project Butter Factory: Henk Slebos and the A.Q. Khan nuclear network – september 2007 – Stop Wapenhandel |date=18 January 2011 |url=https://stopwapenhandel.org/project-butter-factory-henk-slebos-and-the-a-q-khan-nuclear-network-september-2007/ |access-date=6 September 2022 |language=nl}}</ref>

Ernst Piffl, was convicted and sentenced to three and a half years in prison by Germany in 1998 for supplying nuclear centrifuge parts through his company Team GmbH to Khan's [[Khan Research Laboratories]] in [[Kahuta]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Team GmbH and Ernest Piffl |url=http://exportcontrols.info/piffl.html |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=exportcontrols.info |publisher=[[Institute for Science and International Security]]}}</ref> [[Asher Karni]], a Hungarian-South African businessman was sentenced to three years in prison in the US for the sale of restricted nuclear equipment to Pakistan through Humayun Khan (an associate of A. Q. Khan) and his Pakland PME Corporation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2005 |title=Nuclear Underground: The Guru |url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/nuclear/ |access-date=7 September 2022 |website=[[Frontline World]] |publisher=[[PBS]]}}</ref>

==Scientific career in Pakistan==
===Smiling Buddha and initiation===
{{Main|Operation Smiling Buddha|Project-706}}

Upon learning of India's surprise nuclear test, '[[Smiling Buddha]]', in May 1974, Khan wanted to contribute to efforts to build an atomic bomb and met with officials at the Pakistani Embassy in [[The Hague]], who dissuaded him by saying it was "hard to find" a job in PAEC as a "metallurgist".<ref name="History Commons">{{Cite web |title=Profile: Abdul Qadeer Khan |publisher=History Commons |url=http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=abdul_qadeer_khan |access-date=7 August 2011 |archive-date=13 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813034727/http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=abdul_qadeer_khan |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 1974, Khan wrote a letter which went unnoticed, but he directed another letter through the Pakistani ambassador to the [[Prime Minister Secretariat (Islamabad)|Prime Minister's Secretariat]] in September 1974.<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|140}}

Unbeknownst to Khan, his nation's scientists were already working towards feasibility of the atomic bomb under a secretive [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|crash weapons program]] since 20 January 1972 that was being directed by [[Munir Ahmad Khan]], a reactor physicist, which calls into question of his "''father-of''" claim.<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999" />{{rp|72}}<ref name="Usman Shabbir, special report on Pakistan's atomic bomb program" /> After reading his letter, Prime Minister [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] had his military secretary run a security check on Khan, who was unknown at that time, for verification and asked PAEC to dispatch a team under [[Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood]] that met Khan at his family home in [[Almelo]] and directed Bhutto's letter to meet him in Islamabad.<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|141}}<ref name="Capital Studios">Edward Nasim (23 July 2009). "Interview with Sultan Bashir Mahmood". Scientists of Pakistan. Season 1. 0:30 minutes in. [[Nawaiwaqt|Nawa-e-Waqt]]. Capital Studios.</ref> Upon arriving in December 1974, Khan took a taxi straight to the [[Prime Minister's Secretariat (Pakistan)|Prime Minister's Secretariat]]. He met with Prime Minister Bhutto in the presence of [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan]], [[Agha Shahi]], and [[Mubashir Hassan]] where he explained the significance of highly enriched uranium, with the meeting ending with Bhutto's remark: "He seems to make sense."<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|140–141}}<ref name="Maulana Kausar Niazi and Sani Panwjap">{{cite book |last1=Niazi |first1=Kausar |author-link1=Kausar Niazi |editor1-last=Panwar |editor1-first=Sani |title=Last Days of Premier Bhutto |date=1991 |publisher=Jang Publishers |location=Karachi, Sind, Pak. |page=191 |edition=1st |url=http://www.millat.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/bhutto/ENG/Last%20Dayf%20of%20Premier%20Bhutto.pdf |access-date=3 July 2020 |language=en-us |chapter=Reprocessing Plant–The Inside Story |archive-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703213837/http://www.millat.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/bhutto/ENG/Last%20Dayf%20of%20Premier%20Bhutto.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|60–61}}

The next day, Khan met with Munir Ahmad and other senior scientists where he focused the discussion on production of [[highly enriched uranium]] (HEU), against weapon-grade plutonium, and explained to Bhutto why he thought the idea of "plutonium" would not work.<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|143–144}} Later, Khan was advised by several officials in the Bhutto administration to remain in the Netherlands to learn more about centrifuge technology but continue to provide consultation on the [[Project-706]] enrichment program led by Mahmood.<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|143–144}} By December 1975, Khan was given a transfer to a less sensitive section when URENCO became suspicious of his indiscreet open sessions with Mahmood to instruct him on centrifuge technology. Khan began to fear for his safety in the Netherlands, ultimately insisting on returning home.<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|147}}

===Khan Research Laboratories and atomic bomb program===
{{See also|Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|Rotation around a fixed axis|Gaseous diffusion|Analytical mechanics}}
[[File:Zippe-type gas centrifuge.svg|thumb|right|150px|Diagram of the principles of a Zippe-type gas centrifuge with U-238 represented in dark blue and U-235 represented in light blue]]

In April 1976, Khan joined the [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|atomic bomb program]] and became part of the enrichment division, initially collaborating with [[Khalil Qureshi]]&nbsp;– a [[Physical chemistry|physical chemist]].<ref name="Maulana Kausar Niazi and Sani Panwjap"/>{{rp|62–63}} Calculations performed by him were valuable contributions to centrifuges and a vital link to [[nuclear weapon]] research, but continue to push for his ideas for feasibility of weapon-grade uranium even though it had a low priority, with most efforts still aimed to produce [[Weapons-grade#plutonium|military-grade]] [[plutonium]].<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999" />{{rp|73–74}}<ref name="Maulana Kausar Niazi and Sani Panwjap"/> Because of his interest in uranium metallurgy and his frustration at having been passed over for director of the uranium division (the job was instead given to Bashiruddin Mahmood), Khan refused to engage in further calculations and caused tensions with other researchers.<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|147–148}} Khan became highly unsatisfied and bored with the research led by Mahmood&nbsp;– finally, he submitted a critical report to Bhutto, in which he explained that the "enrichment program" was nowhere near success.<ref name="Maulana Kausar Niazi and Sani Panwjap"/>{{rp|62–63}}

Upon reviewing the report, Bhutto sensed a great danger as the scientists were split between military-grade uranium and plutonium and informed Khan to take over the enrichment division from Mahmood, who separated the program from PAEC by founding the [[Engineering Research Laboratories]] (ERL).<ref name="Maulana Kausar Niazi and Sani Panwjap"/>{{rp|63–64}}<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|149–150}} The ERL functioned directly under the Army's [[Corps of Engineers, Pakistan Army|Corps of Engineers]], with Khan being its chief scientist, and the army engineers located the national site at isolated lands in [[Kahuta]] for the enrichment program as ideal site for preventing accidents.<ref name="draqkhan.com">{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=A. Qadeer |author-link=Abdul Qadeer Khan |title=Bhutto, Zia-ul-Haq And Kahuta |work=A. Q. Khan |publisher=draqkhan.com |date=29 July 2009 |url=http://draqkhan.com.pk/index.php/2009/07/bhutto-zia-ul-haq-aur-kahuta/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007064740/http://draqkhan.com.pk/index.php/2009/07/bhutto-zia-ul-haq-aur-kahuta/ |archive-date=7 October 2011 }}
</ref>

The PAEC did not forgo their [[electromagnetic isotope separation]] program, and a parallel program was led by [[Ghulam Dastagir Alam]] at the Air Research Laboratories (ARL) located at [[Chaklala Airbase]], even though Alam had not seen a centrifuge, and only had a rudimentary knowledge of the [[Manhattan Project]].<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999">{{cite book |author=Shahid-ur-Rehman |title=Long road to Chagai |year=1999 |publisher=Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999 |location=Islamabad |isbn=969-8500-00-6 |chapter=The Gas centrifuge controversy"}}</ref>{{rp|72–110}}<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|144}} During this time, Alam accomplished a great feat by perfectly balancing the rotation of the first generation of [[centrifuge]] to ~30,000 rpm and was immediately dispatched to ERL which was suffering from many setbacks in setting up its own program under Khan's direction based on centrifuge technology dependent on URENCO's methods.<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999"/>{{rp|75–76}} Khan eventually committed to work on problems involving the differential equations concerning the rotation around fixed axis to perfectly balance the machine under influence of gravity and the design of first generation of centrifuges became functional after Khan and Alam succeeded in separating the <sup>235</sup>U and <sup>238</sup>U isotopes from raw natural uranium.<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999"/>{{rp|78–79}}<ref name="globalsecurity.org">{{cite web |author=John Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/khan.htm |title=A.Q. Khan |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-date=22 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422074606/http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/khan.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the military circles, Khan's scientific ability was well recognised and was often known with his moniker "''Centrifuge Khan''"<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|151}} and the national laboratory was renamed after him upon the visit of President [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]] in 1983.<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives"/> In spite of his role, Khan was never in charge of the actual designs of the nuclear devices, their calculations, and eventual weapons testing which remained under the directorship of Munir Ahmad Khan and the PAEC.<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives">{{cite web |last=Sublette |first=Carey |title=Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan |url=http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Pakistan/AQKhan.html |work=Nuclear Weapon Archives, Reuters and Los Angeles Times news reports were used in preparing this article. |publisher=Nuclear weapon archives |access-date=18 October 2012|display-authors=etal |page=1 |date=2 January 2002}}</ref>

The PAEC's senior scientists who worked with him and under him remember him as "an [[egomania]]cal lightweight"<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives"/> given to exaggerating his scientific achievements in centrifuges.<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives"/> At one point, Munir Khan said that, "most of the scientists who work on the development of atomic bomb projects were extremely 'serious'. They were sobered by the weight of what they don't know; Abdul Qadeer Khan is a showman."<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives"/><ref name="Stanford University Press">{{cite book |last=Khan |first=Feroz Hassan |title=Eating grass: the making of the atomic bomb |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, California |isbn=978-0-8047-7601-1 |page=552 |chapter=The clash of the Khans: Centrifuge Khan vs. Reactor Khan |date=7 November 2012}} Viewed 7 January 2013.</ref> During the timeline of the bomb program, Khan published papers on [[analytical mechanics]] of [[balancing of rotating masses]] and thermodynamics with [[mathematical rigour]] to compete, but still failed to impress his fellow theorists at PAEC, generally in the physics community.<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives"/> In later years, Khan became a staunch critic of Munir Khan's research in physics, and on many occasions tried unsuccessfully to belittle Munir Khan's role in the atomic bomb projects.<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives"/> Their scientific rivalry became public and widely popular in the physics community and seminars held in the country over the years.<ref name="theatlantic.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/aq-khan/3 |title=The Wrath of Khan |work=[[The Atlantic]] |date=4 February 2004 |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512004017/https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/aq-khan/3 |archive-date=12 May 2008}}</ref>

===Nuclear tests: Chagai-I===
{{Main|Chagai-I}}
{{Further|Boosted fission weapon}}
[[File:Chagaiatomictests.jpg|thumb|270px|Visible effect of the nuclear weapons test, [[Chagai-I]], conducted in the [[Ras Koh Hills]] of the [[Sulaiman Mountains]], May 1998.<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives" /> All five nuclear devices were [[Boosted fission weapon|boosted fission]] devices that used [[highly enriched uranium]].<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|145–146}}]]

Many of his theorists were unsure that military-grade uranium would be feasible on time without the centrifuges, since Alam had notified PAEC that the "blueprints were incomplete" and "lacked the scientific information needed even for the basic gas-centrifuges".<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999" />{{rp|75–76}}<ref name="Stanford University Press" />{{rp|145–146}} Calculations by [[Tasneem M. Shah|Tasneem Shah]], and confirmed by Alam, showed that Khan's earlier estimation of the quantity of uranium needing enrichment for the production of weapon-grade uranium was possible, even with the small number of centrifuges deployed.<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999" />{{rp|77}}

Khan produced the designs of the centrifuges from [[Urenco Group|URENCO]]. However, they were riddled with serious technical errors, and while he bought some components for analysis, they were broken pieces, making them useless for quick assembly of a centrifuge.<ref name="Usman Shabbir, special report on Pakistan's atomic bomb program">{{cite web |last1=Shabbir |first1=Usman |title=The Uranium Route to the Bomb |url=http://pakdef.org/remembering-unsung-heroes-munir-ahmed-khan/ |website=PakDef Military Consortium |publisher=Usman Shabbir, special report on Pakistan's atomic bomb program |access-date=20 January 2015 |location=Islamabad, Pakistan |date=5 June 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120120516/http://pakdef.org/remembering-unsung-heroes-munir-ahmed-khan/ |archive-date=20 January 2015}}</ref> Its [[separative work unit]] (SWU) rate was extremely low, so that it would have to be rotated for thousands of [[Revolutions per minute|RPMs]] at the cost of millions of taxpayers money, Alam maintained.<ref name="Rahman 1998 59-60">{{harv|Rahman|1998|pp=59–60}}</ref> Though Khan's knowledge of copper metallurgy greatly aided the {{clarify span|innovation of centrifuges,|date=July 2020|What innovations?}} it was the calculations and validation that came from his team of fellow theorists, including mathematician Tasneem Shah and Alam, who solved the [[differential equations]] concerning rotation around a fixed axis under the influence of gravity, which led Khan to come up with the innovative centrifuge designs.<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|146}}<ref name="Rahman 1998 59-60" />
[[File:Gun-type fission weapon en-labels thin lines.svg|thumb|left|250px|Diagram of the gun-type device developed by the United States]]
Scientists have said that Khan would have never got any closer to success without the assistance of Alam and others.<ref>{{harv|Rahman|1998|pp=60}}</ref> The issue is controversial;<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999"/>{{rp|79}} Khan maintained to his biographer that when it came to defending the "centrifuge approach" and really putting work into it, both Shah and Alam refused.<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999"/>{{rp|79–80}}

Khan was also very critical of PAEC's concentrated efforts towards developing a plutonium '[[Implosion nuclear weapon|implosion-type]]' nuclear devices and provided strong advocacy for the relatively simple '[[Gun-type fission weapon|gun-type]]' device that only had to work with high-enriched uranium – a design concept of gun-type device he eventually submitted to Ministry of Energy (MoE) and Ministry of Defense (MoD).<ref name="Stanford University Press"/>{{rp|152}}<ref name="Usman Shabbir, special report on Pakistan's atomic bomb program"/> Khan downplayed the importance of plutonium despite many of the theorists maintaining that "plutonium and the [[nuclear fuel cycle|fuel cycle]] has its significance", and he insisted on the uranium route to the Bhutto administration when France's offer for an extraction plant was in the offing.<ref name="theatlantic.com" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=zulfikar_ali_bhutto_1 |title=Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |publisher=Historycommons.org |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615184345/http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=zulfikar_ali_bhutto_1 |archive-date=15 June 2011 }}</ref>

Though he had helped to come up with the centrifuge designs, and had been a long-time proponent of the concept, Khan was not chosen to head the development project to test his nation's first nuclear-weapons (his reputation of a thorny personality likely played a role in this<ref name="The Nation, 1999"/>) after India conducted its series of nuclear tests, '[[Pokhran-II]]' in 1998.<ref name="The Nation, 1999">{{cite news |last1=Azam |first1=Rai Muhammad Saleh |title=Where Mountains Move: The Story of Chagai |url=http://pakdef.org/where-mountains-move-the-story-of-chagai/ |access-date=20 January 2015 |work=Special editorial work prepared and published by Rai Muhammad Saleh Azam in 1998 |agency=The Nation |publisher=The Nation, 1999 |date=20 June 1998 |location=Islamabad |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120114421/http://pakdef.org/where-mountains-move-the-story-of-chagai/ |archive-date=20 January 2015}}</ref> Intervention by the [[Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee|Chairman Joint Chiefs]], General [[Jehangir Karamat]], allowed Khan to be a participant and eye-witness his nation's first nuclear test, '[[Chagai-I]]' in 1998.<ref name="The Nation, 1999"/><ref name="globalsecurity.org" /> At a news conference, Khan confirmed the testing of the [[Boosted fission weapon|boosted fission devices]] while stating that it was KRL's highly enriched uranium (HEU) that was used in the detonation of Pakistan's first nuclear devices on 28 May 1998.<ref name="globalsecurity.org" />

Many of Khan's colleagues were irritated that he seemed to enjoy taking full credit for something he had only a small part in, and in response, he authored an article, "Torch-Bearers", which appeared in ''[[The News International]]'', emphasising that he was not alone in the weapon's development. He made an attempt to work on the [[Teller–Ulam design]] for the hydrogen bomb, but the military strategists had objected to the idea as it went against the government's policy of [[N-deterrence|minimum credible deterrence]].<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999"/>{{rp|108}}<ref name="Stanford University Press"/><ref>See: [[Thermonuclear weapon#Pakistan|Project Hydrogen]]</ref> Khan often got engrossed in projects which were theoretically interesting but practically unfeasible.<ref name="Geo TV">{{cite news |url=http://oraclesyndicate.twoday.net/stories/4167731/ |work=Hamid Mir |title=Interview of Dr. Samar Mubarak – Head of Pakistan Missile program |access-date=3 March 2011 |archive-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719102226/http://oraclesyndicate.twoday.net/stories/4167731/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Proliferation controversy==
{{Further|Nuclear proliferation}}
In the 1970s, Khan had been very vocal about establishing a network to acquire imported electronic materials from the Dutch firms and had very little trust of PAEC's domestic manufacturing of materials, despite the government accepting PAEC's arguments for the long term sustainability of the nuclear weapons program.<ref name="Stanford University Press" />{{rp|148}}<ref name="globalsecurity.org"/><ref name="bomb">{{cite book |title=America and the Islamic Bomb: The Deadly Compromise |last=Armstrong |first=David |author2=Joseph John Trento |author3=National Security News Service |publisher=Steerforth Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-58642-137-3 |page=165}}</ref><ref name="cbsnews">{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3483035n&tag=mncol;lst;3 |work=CBS News |title=Eye To Eye: An Islamic Bomb |access-date=8 October 2010 |archive-date=10 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110160556/http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3483035n |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3481499.stm |work=BBC News |title=On the trail of the black market bombs |date=12 February 2004 |access-date=8 October 2010 |archive-date=9 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109101458/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3481499.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> At one point, Khan reached out to the [[People's Republic of China]] to acquire [[uranium hexafluoride]] (UF<sub>6</sub>) when he attended a conference there – the Pakistani Government sent it back to the People's Republic of China, asking KRL to use the UF<sub>6</sub> supplied by PAEC.<ref name="Stanford University Press" />{{rp|150–151}} In an investigative report published by [[Nuclear Threat Initiative]], Chinese scientists were reportedly present at [[Khan Research Laboratories]] (KRL) in [[Kahuta]] in the early 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/kahuta.htm|title=Kahuta - Pakistan Special Weapons Facilities|website=[[GlobalSecurity.org]]}}</ref> In 1996, the [[US intelligence community]] maintained that China provided [[Magnetic field|magnetic rings]] for special suspension bearings mounted at the top of rotating centrifuge cylinders. In 2005, it was revealed that President Zia-ul-Haq's [[Zia regime|military government]] had KRL run a HEU programme in the [[Chinese nuclear weapons program]].<ref name="Kan, Shirley A. 2009 pp. 5">Kan, Shirley A. (2009). "§A.Q. Khan's nuclear network". China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy issues. Washington, DC: [[Congressional Research Service]] (CRS): Congressional Research Service (CRS). pp. 5–6. ISBN Congressional Research Service (CRS).</ref> Khan said that "KRL has built a centrifuge facility for China in [[Hanzhong]] city".<ref name="Kan, Shirley A. 2009 pp. 5"/> China also exported some of [[DF-11]]'s [[ballistic missile]] technology to Pakistan, where Pakistan's [[Ghaznavi (missile)|Ghaznavi]] and [[Shaheen-II]] borrowed from DF-11 technology.<ref name=jane15>Duncan Lennox; ''Hatf 6 (Shaheen 2), Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems''; 15 June 2004.</ref><ref name=mth6>{{cite web|title=Haft 6 "Shaheen 2"|url=https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/hatf-6/|publisher=CSIS Missile Threat|access-date=26 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140422/DEFREG03/304220028/Pakistan-Tests-Short-Range-Ballistic-Missile|title=Pakistan Tests Short-Range Ballistic Missile|author=Usman Ansari|newspaper=DefenseNews|publisher=Gannett|date=22 April 2014|access-date=30 September 2014|archive-date=1 October 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141001114207/http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140422/DEFREG03/304220028/Pakistan-Tests-Short-Range-Ballistic-Missile}}</ref>

In 1982, an unnamed Arab country reached out to Khan for the sale of centrifuge technology. Khan was very receptive to the financial offer, but one scientist alerted the Zia administration which investigated the matter, only for Khan to vehemently deny such an offer was made to him.<ref name="Routledge, Kirk, 2017">{{cite book |last1=Kirk |first1=Russell |title=Organizational Cultures and the Management of Nuclear Technology: Political and Military Sociology |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |location=Washington DC, Islamabad |isbn=978-1-351-50115-6 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCExDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT90 |access-date=4 July 2020 |language=en |format=googlebooks |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528172752/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Organizational_Cultures_and_the_Manageme/JCExDwAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PT90&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref> The Zia administration tasked [[Major-General]] [[Syed Ali Nawab|Ali Nawab]], an engineering officer, to keep surveillance on Khan, which he did until 1983 when he retired from his military service, and Khan's activities went undetected for several years after.<ref name="The International Institute For Strategic Studies (IISS)">{{cite book |title=A.Q. Khan and onward proliferation from Pakistan |publisher=The International Institute For Strategic Studies |date=24 October 2012}}</ref>

===Court controversy and US objections===
In 1979, the [[Dutch government]] eventually probed Khan on suspicion of [[nuclear espionage]] but he was not prosecuted due to lack of evidence, though it did file a criminal complaint against him in a local court in [[Amsterdam]], which sentenced him ''[[Trial in absentia|in absentia]]'' in 1985 to four years in prison.<ref name="Routledge, Spector, 2019">{{cite book |last1=Spector |first1=Leonard S. |title=Nuclear Ambitions: The Spread Of Nuclear Weapons 1989–1990 |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-71464-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zimNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT326 |access-date=5 July 2020 |language=en |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528172750/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Nuclear_Ambitions/zimNDwAAQBAJ?gbpv=1&pg=PT326&printsec=frontcover |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ali Masud books publication">{{Citation |last=Khan |first=Abdul Qadeer|title=Sehar Honay Tak (Until Sunrise) |place=Islamabad, Pakistan |publisher=Ali Masud books publication |series=1 |volume=1 |orig-date=2010 |date=June 2010 |chapter=How we developed the program |pages=34–39 |language=en, ur }}</ref> Upon learning of the sentence, Khan filed an appeal through his attorney, [[S. M. Zafar]], who teamed up with the administration of [[Leuven University]], and successfully argued that the technical information requested by Khan was commonly found and taught in undergraduate and doctoral physics at the university – the court exonerated Khan by overturning his sentence on a [[legal technicality]].<ref name="Ali Masud books publication"/>{{rp|35}}<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives"/> Reacting to the suspicions of espionage, Khan stressed that: "I had requested for it as we had no library of our own at KRL, at that time. All the research work [at Kahuta] was the result of our innovation and struggle. We did not receive any technical 'know-how' from abroad, but we cannot reject the use of books, magazines, and research papers in this connection."<ref name="Nuclear weapon archives"/>

In 1979, the Zia administration, which was making an effort to keep their [[nuclear capability]] discreet to avoid pressure from the [[Reagan administration]] of the United States (US), nearly lost its patience with Khan when he reportedly attempted to meet with a local journalist to announce the existence of the enrichment program.<ref name="Shahid-ur-Rehman, 1999" />{{rp|82}} During the Indian [[Operation Brasstacks]] military exercise in 1987, Khan gave another interview to local press and stated: "the Americans had been well aware of the success of the atomic quest of Pakistan", allegedly confirming the speculation of technology export.<ref name="Indian Express, K. Nayyar, 1987">{{cite news |last1=Nayyar |first1=Kuldip |author-link1=Kuldip Nayyar |title=A day with A. Q. Khan |url=http://www.indianexpress.com |access-date=5 July 2020 |work=archive.indianexpress.com |agency=Indian Express |publisher=Indian Express, Pakistan Bureau |date=16 February 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711205806/http://www.indianexpress.com/ |archive-date=11 July 2011 |location=London, Eng. UK. |language=en-uk |url-status=live }}</ref> At both instances, the Zia administration sharply denied Khan's statement and a furious President Zia met with Khan and used a "tough tone", promising Khan severe repercussions had he not retracted all of his statements, which Khan immediately did by contacting several news correspondents.<ref name="John Pike of Federation of American Scientists"/>

In 1996, Khan again appeared on his country's news channels and maintained that "''at no stage was the program of producing 90% weapons-grade enriched uranium ever stopped''", despite [[Benazir Bhutto]]'s administration reaching an understanding with the United States [[Clinton administration]] to cap the program to 3% enrichment in 1990.<ref name="John Pike of Federation of American Scientists">{{cite web |last=Pike |first=John |title=Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL) |url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/facility/kahuta.htm |work=The Federation of American Scientists |access-date=24 October 2012 |date=16 May 2000 |archive-date=21 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021005122/http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/facility/kahuta.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===North Korea, Iran, and Libya===
[[File:Gas-ultra centrifuges from Libya.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The centrifuges removed from Libya by the United States as seen in the image were developed by Khan, known as ''P1'', when he worked for [[Urenco Group|URENCO]] in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://usinfo.org/zhtw/E-JOURNAL/EJ_Nuclear/desutter.htm |title=American Spaces Dashboard |publisher=usinfo.org |access-date=7 February 2009 |archive-date=24 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724235306/http://usinfo.org/zhtw/E-JOURNAL/EJ_Nuclear/desutter.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

The innovation and improved designs of centrifuges were marked as classified for export restriction by the Pakistan government, though Khan was still in possession of earlier designs of centrifuges from when he worked for URENCO in the 1970s.<ref name="Stanford University Press" />{{rp|156–158}} In 1990, the United States alleged that highly sensitive information was being exported to North Korea in exchange for rocket engines. Pakistan's [[Ghauri missile]] was based entirely on [[North Korea]]'s [[Rodong-1]] as reflected in its technology. The project was supported by [[Benazir Bhutto]] who consulted for the project with North Korea and facilitated the [[technology transfer]] to [[Khan Research Laboratories]] in 1993.<ref name="Defence News">{{cite news|last1=Ansari|first1=Usman|title=Pakistan Test-Fires Medium-Range Ballistic Missile|url=http://www.defensenews.com/article/20121128/DEFREG03/311280005/Pakistan-Test-Fires-Medium-Range-Ballistic-Missile|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130719165134/http://www.defensenews.com/article/20121128/DEFREG03/311280005/Pakistan-Test-Fires-Medium-Range-Ballistic-Missile|archive-date=19 July 2013|access-date=22 November 2014|agency=Defence News|publisher=Defence News|date=28 May 2012}}</ref>

On multiple occasions, Khan levelled accusations against Benazir Bhutto's administration of providing secret enrichment information, on a [[compact disc]] (CD), to North Korea; these accusations were denied by Benazir Bhutto's staff and military personnel.<ref>Allen, Brooke (2016). ''Benazir Bhutto: Favored Daughter''. Icons Series. New York: Amazon/New Harvest. {{ISBN|978-0-544-64893-7}}.</ref>{{rp|113–114}}<ref name="International Institute for Strategic Studies (ISSI)">{{Cite book |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Mark |contribution=§''Dr. A. Q. Khan and the rise and fall of proliferation network'' |title=Nuclear black markets |location=London, United Kingdom |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-86079-201-7 |publisher=International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) }}</ref><ref name="PBS Frontline">{{cite news|title=General Mirza Aslam Beg: Former Army Foe of Musharraf|url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/pakistan/e.html|access-date=24 March 2013|work=PBS|date=March 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110073047/http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/pakistan/e.html|archive-date=10 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Between 1987 and 1989, Khan secretly leaked knowledge of centrifuges to Iran without notifying the Pakistan Government,<ref name="PBS Frontline"/> although this issue is a subject of political controversy.<ref name="Indian Express, K. Nayyar, 1987"/><ref name="The International Institute For Strategic Studies (IISS)"/> In 2003, the [[European Union]] pressured Iran to accept tougher inspections of [[nuclear program of Iran|its nuclear program]] and the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] (IAEA) revealed an enrichment facility in the city of [[Natanz]], Iran, utilising gas centrifuges based on the designs and methods used by URENCO. The IAEA inspectors quickly identified the centrifuges as ''P-1'' types, which had been obtained "from a foreign intermediary in 1989", and the [[List of Iranian nuclear negotiators|Iranian negotiators]] turned over the names of their suppliers, which identified Khan as one of them. Heinz Mebus, a German engineer and businessman and college friend of Khan, was named as one of the suppliers - acting as a middleman for Khan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 February 2004 |title=Pakistan, Nuclear Black Market Linked |url=https://apnews.com/article/0f60f7756644323ef7ea2d4e2cdbf5b2 |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=[[AP News]] |language=en}}</ref>

In May 1998, ''[[Newsweek]]'' reported that Khan had sent Iraq centrifuge designs, which were apparently confiscated by the [[United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission|UNMOVIC]] officials. Iraqi officials said "the documents were authentic but that they had not agreed to work with A. Q. Khan, fearing an [[ISI (Pakistan)|ISI]] sting operation, due to [[Iraq–Pakistan relations|strained relations]] between two countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Documents Indicate A.Q. Khan Offered Nuclear Weapon Designs to Iraq in 1990: Did He Approach Other Countries? |url=http://www.isis-online.org/publications/southasia/khan_memo.html |website=[[Institute for Science and International Security]] |access-date=4 August 2010 |archive-date=12 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712214159/https://isis-online.org/publications/southasia/khan_memo.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

On 7 June 1998, 10 days after Pakistan's first underground nuclear test, there was yet another incident according to [[Foreign Policy]]. Kim Sa Nae, wife of a midlevel North Korean "diplomat", who was invited by Khan as part of a 20-member delegation was shot to death a few yards from Khan's official residence after she was suspected to be a spy for the United States by the [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]] that subsequently informed the North Korean authorities. Privately, some Pakistani intelligence sources leaked this information to the [[Los Angeles Times]]. 3 days after Kim's death, both P-1 and P-2 centrifuges, warheads, and technical data, along with Kim's body, were flown to North Korea in the same American made [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|C-130]] cargo plane that was making rounds between Pakistan and North Korea from 1997-2002.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chinoy |first=Mike |date=11 October 2021 |title=How Pakistan's A.Q. Khan Helped North Korea Get the Bomb |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/10/11/aq-khan-pakistan-north-korea-nuclear/ |access-date=11 October 2024 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2003, [[merchant vessel]] ''[[BBC China]]'' was caught carrying nuclear centrifuges to Libya from Malaysia, the [[Scomi Group]] and [[Khan Research Laboratories]] were supplying nuclear parts to Libya through Khan's Dubai-based Sri Lankan associate Buhary Syed Abu Tahir.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Buhary Syed Abu Tahir |url=http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=buhary_syed_abu_tahir |website=[[History Commons]] | date=12 July 2025 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This was further revealed in the [[Scomi Precision Engineering nuclear scandal]] surrounding Scomi CEO [[Shah Hakim Zain]] and {{Ill|Kamaluddin Abdullah|ms}}, son of former Malaysian Prime Minister [[Abdullah Ahmad Badawi]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Prolifération nucléaire par et au profit des acteurs non étatiques - Chaire Raoul-Dandurand en études stratégiques et diplomatiques|url=https://dandurand.uqam.ca/uploads/files/publications/etudes_raoul_dandurand/RD_Etude21_WEB.pdf|website=[[University of Quebec Montreal]]|language=fr|publication-date=|access-date=6 September 2022|archive-date=1 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301084013/http://dandurand.uqam.ca/uploads/files/publications/etudes_raoul_dandurand/RD_Etude21_WEB.pdf}}</ref>

[[Libya under Gaddafi|Libya]] negotiated with the United States to roll back its [[Libya and weapons of mass destruction|nuclear program]] to have economic sanctions lifted, effected by the [[Iran and Libya Sanctions Act]], and shipped centrifuges to the United States that were identified as ''P-1'' models by the American inspectors.<ref name="International Institute for Strategic Studies (ISSI)" /> Ultimately, the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] launched its investigation of Khan, focusing on his personal role, when Libya handed over a list of its suppliers.<ref name="International Institute for Strategic Studies (ISSI)" /> [[Friedrich Tinner]], a nuclear engineer and friend of Khan since their days at the [[KU Leuven|Leuven University]], was one of the heads of Libya's nuclear programme and worked in nuclear enrichment for Libya and Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Suisses, trafiquants nucléaires et agents de la CIA|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2008/06/11/01003-20080611ARTFIG00015-suisses-trafiquants-nucleaires-et-agents-de-la-cia.php|website=[[Le Figaro]]|language=fr|date=11 June 2008}}</ref> In 2008, German nuclear engineer {{Ill|Gotthard Lerch|de}} was convicted and sentenced to five years and six months in prison for procuring centrifuges for Libya from Khan, Lerch also acted as Khan's middleman for Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany Convicts Khan Associate |url=https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2008-11/germany-convicts-khan-associate |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=[[Arms Control Association]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gotthard Lerch |url=https://www.iranwatch.org/suppliers/gotthard-lerch |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=[[Iran Watch]]}}</ref> [[Alfred Hempel]], a German businessman, arranged the shipment of gas centrifuge parts from Khan in Pakistan to Libya and Iran via Dubai.<ref name="MilhollinNukesNazi">{{cite news |last1=Milholin |first1=Gary |date=4 March 2014 |title=Nukes 'R' Us (Opinion) |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/04/opinion/nukes-r-us.html?mcubz=3&_r=0 |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref>

The "A.Q. Khan network" involved numerous [[Shell corporation|shell companies]] set-up by Khan in Dubai to obtain equipment necessary for nuclear enrichment.<ref name=":0" /> From 1999 onwards, Khan travelled to Dubai 41 times according to the Pakistan government. Khan also kept a penthouse on posh al-Maktoum Road. The shell companies consisting of "a fax machine and an empty office" would be used to facilitate shipments and shut down immediately after the deals.<ref>{{Cite magazine |author1=Tim McGirk |author2=Bill Powell |date=6 February 2005 |title=The Man Who Sold the Bomb |url=https://time.com/archive/6596571/the-man-who-sold-the-bomb/ |access-date=11 October 2024 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref>  {{Ill|Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group|ko|샤히드 바게리 산업그룹}} of Iran's [[Defense Industries Organization]] was involved in [[nuclear proliferation]] for Iran and North Korea through China.<ref>[안보] 중국 비밀무기상 리팡웨이를 잡아라 [Capture China's Secret Weapons Dealer, [[Li Fangwei]]]. [[The Dong-a Ilbo|Weekly Donga]]. 24 February 2016.</ref> Parts needed for [[nuclear enrichment]] in Pakistan were also imported by Khan from several Japanese companies.<ref>『戦後70年に向けて・核回廊を歩く:パキスタン編/16 イスラエルの脅威』[WWII 70th Anniversary - Walking the Nuclear Corridor: Pakistan/Israeli Threat]. [[Mainichi Shimbun]]. 26 August 2014.</ref>

===Security hearings, pardon, and aftermath===
Starting in 2001, Khan served as an adviser on science and technology in the [[President Pervez Musharaff|Musharraf administration]] and had become a public figure who enjoyed much support from his country's political [[Conservatism in Pakistan|conservative sphere]].<ref name="International Institute for Strategic Studies (ISSI)"/> In 2003, the Bush administration reportedly turned over evidence of a [[nuclear proliferation]] network that implicated Khan's role to the Musharraf administration. Khan was dismissed from his post on 31 January 2004.<ref name="International Institute for Strategic Studies (ISSI)"/> On 4 February 2004, Khan appeared on [[Pakistan Television Corporation|Pakistan Television]] (PTV) and confessed to running a proliferation ring, and transferring technology to Iran between 1989 and 1991, and to North Korea and Libya between 1991 and 1997.<ref>
{{cite news |author1=David Rohde |author2=David Sanger |title=Key Pakistani is Said to Admit Atom Transfers |work=The New York Times |date=2 February 2004 |page=A1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/feb/05/pakistan |title=I seek your pardon |author=AQ Khan |newspaper=The Guardian |date=5 February 2004 |access-date=16 December 2016 |archive-date=15 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215210629/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/feb/05/pakistan |url-status=live }}</ref> The Musharraf administration avoided arresting Khan but launched security hearings on Khan who confessed to the military investigators that former [[Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan)|Chief of Army Staff]] General [[Mirza Aslam Beg]] had given authorisation for technology transfer to Iran.<ref>
{{cite news |author1=John Lancaster |author2=Kamran Khan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A6884-2004Feb2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011215533/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A6884-2004Feb2 |archive-date=11 October 2008 |title=Musharraf Named in Nuclear Probe: Senior Pakistani Army Officers Were Aware of Technology Transfers, Scientist Says |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=3 February 2004}}</ref>

On 5 February 2004, President [[Pervez Musharraf]] issued a pardon to Khan as he feared that the issue would be politicised by his political rivals.<ref name="Powell">
Bill Powell and Tim McGirk, "The Man Who Sold the Bomb; How Pakistan's A.Q. Khan outwitted Western intelligence to build a global nuclear-smuggling ring that made the world a more dangerous place", ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 14 February 2005, p. 22.</ref> Despite the pardon, Khan, who had strong conservative support, had badly damaged the political credibility of the Musharraf administration and the image of the United States who was attempting to [[Winning hearts and minds|win hearts and minds]] of local populations during the height of the [[Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]. While the local television news media aired sympathetic documentaries on Khan, the opposition parties in the country protested so strongly that the [[Embassy of the United States, Islamabad|US Embassy in Islamabad]] had pointed out to the Bush administration that the successor to Musharraf could be less friendly towards the United States. This restrained the Bush administration from applying further [[Political pressure|''direct'' pressure]] on Musharraf due to a strategic calculation that it might cause the loss of Musharraf as an ally.<ref name="The New Yorker"/>
In December 2006, the [[Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission]] (WMDC), headed by [[Hans Blix]], stated that Khan could not have acted alone "without the awareness of the Pakistan Government".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/aq-khan-did-not-act-alone-swedish-report/story-05ZoQT37YVoC35LdjEoUQI.html|title=AQ Khan did not act alone: Swedish report|newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=7 December 2006|via=[[IANS]]|access-date=10 October 2021|archive-date=27 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927041113/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/aq-khan-did-not-act-alone-swedish-report/story-05ZoQT37YVoC35LdjEoUQI.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Blix's statement was also reciprocated by the United States government, with one anonymous American government intelligence official quoted by independent journalist and author [[Seymour Hersh]]: "Suppose if [[Edward Teller]] had suddenly decided to spread nuclear technology around the world. Could he really do that without the American government knowing?".<ref name="The New Yorker">{{cite web |last=Hersh |first=Seymour |title=is Washington going easy on Pakistan's nuclear black marketers? |url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:zZeDVlZ07iQJ:asr2.myweb.uga.edu/Fall%25202004/Readings/The%2520Deal%2520Why%2520is%2520Washington%2520going%2520easy%2520on%2520Pakistan.doc+edward+teller+a+q+khan&gl=us&pid=bl |work=Work by Seymour Hersh, with the assistance from the US government. |publisher=The New Yorker |access-date=9 December 2012 |format=google docs |date=1 March 2004}}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 2007, the US and [[European Commission]] politicians as well as IAEA officials had made several strong calls to have Khan interrogated by IAEA investigators, given the lingering scepticism about the disclosures made by Pakistan, but Prime Minister [[Shaukat Aziz]], who remained supportive of Khan and spoke highly of him, strongly dismissed the calls by terming it as "case closed".<ref name="Pakistan Tribune, 26 October 2007"/>

In 2008, the security hearings were officially terminated by [[Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (Pakistan)|Chairman joint chiefs]] General [[Tariq Majid]] who marked the details of debriefings as "''classified''".<ref name="The New York Review of Books"/> In 2008, in an interview, Khan laid the whole blame on former President Pervez Musharraf, and labelled Musharraf as the "''Big Boss''" for proliferation deals.<ref name="eit 27723085"/> In 2012, Khan also implicated Benazir Bhutto's administration in proliferation matters, pointing to the fact as she had issued "clear directions in thi[s] regard."<ref name="The New Yorker"/> Khan also said that he was persecuted because he was a [[Mahajir (Pakistan)|Muhajir]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.voice.pk/news/i-was-never-accepted-as-a-pakistani-just-being-of-muhajir-dr-abdul-qadeer-khan/ |title=Voice News |access-date=5 November 2022 |archive-date=26 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226115613/https://www.voice.pk/news/i-was-never-accepted-as-a-pakistani-just-being-of-muhajir-dr-abdul-qadeer-khan/ }}</ref>

==Government work, academia, and political advocacy==
{{See also|Pakistani missile research and development program}}
Khan's strong advocacy for [[nuclear sharing]] of technology eventually led to his [[Social rejection|ostracisation]] by much of the scientific community, but Khan was still quite welcome in his country's political and military circles.{{rp|151}}<ref name="Stanford University Press" /> After leaving the directorship of the Khan Research Laboratories in 2001, Khan briefly joined the Musharraf administration as a policy adviser on science and technology on a request from President Musharraf.<ref name="International Institute for Strategic Studies (ISSI)"/> In this capacity, Khan promoted increased defence spending on his nation's missile program to counter the perceived threats from the [[Indian Missile Program|Indian missile program]] and advised the Musharraf administration on space policy. He presented the idea of using the [[Ghauri (missile)|''Ghauri'']] missile system as an [[expendable launch system]] to launch satellites into space.<ref name="Dawn Newspaper, 2008, staff reporter">{{cite news |last1=staff reporter |first1=agencies |title=Pakistan risks losing orbital slot if satellite not launched |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/971457/pakistan-risks-losing-orbital-slot-if-satellite-not-launched |access-date=12 July 2020 |work=dawn.com |agency=Dawn Newspaper |publisher=Dawn Newspaper, 2008 |date=20 October 2008 |language=en |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124182615/https://www.dawn.com/news/971457/pakistan-risks-losing-orbital-slot-if-satellite-not-launched |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="website 2008-11-12">{{cite web |url=http://draqkhan.com.pk/index.php/2008/11/the-past-and-the-present-12-nov-2008/#more-3 |title=The past and the present (12 Nov 2008) |publisher=A. Q. Khan |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214144922/http://draqkhan.com.pk/index.php/2008/11/the-past-and-the-present-12-nov-2008/#more-3 |archive-date=14 February 2010}}</ref>

At the height of the proliferation controversy in 2007, Khan was paid tribute by Prime Minister [[Shaukat Aziz]] on state television while commenting in the last part of his speech, Aziz stressed: "The services of [nuclear] scientist&nbsp;... Dr. [Abdul] Qadeer Khan are "''unforgettable''" for the country".<ref name="Pakistan Tribune, 26 October 2007">{{cite news|title=Dr. Qadeer's services unforgettable, says PM Shaukat Aziz|url=http://paktribune.com/news/Dr-Qadeers-services-unforgettable-says-PM-Shaukat-Aziz-192877.html|access-date=30 May 2012|newspaper=Pakistan Tribune|date=26 October 2007|quote=The services of Nuclear Scientist Dr. Qadeer Khan are unforgettable for the country; we will not hand him over to any other country&nbsp;...|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517112524/http://paktribune.com/news/Dr-Qadeers-services-unforgettable-says-PM-Shaukat-Aziz-192877.html|archive-date=17 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 1990s, Khan secured a fellowship with the [[Pakistan Academy of Sciences]] – he served as its president in 1996–97.<ref name="Pakistan Academy of Sciences">{{cite web |title=Abdul Qadeer Khan |url=http://www.paspk.org/detail.php?id=16&id1=124 |work=Press Directorate Office of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences |publisher=Pakistan Academy of Sciences |access-date=18 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204033034/http://www.paspk.org/detail.php?id=16&id1=124 |archive-date=4 February 2014}}</ref> Khan published two books on material science and started publishing his articles from KRL in the 1980s.<ref name="iUniverse.com">{{Cite book |last=Upadhyaya |first=Gopal S. |contribution=§Dr. A.Q. Khan of Pakistan |pages=138–140|title=Men of Metals and Materials: My Memoires |location=Bloomington, Indiana, United States |year=2011 |publisher=iUniverse.com }}</ref> Gopal S. Upadhyaya, an Indian metallurgist who attended Khan's conference and met him along with [[Kuldip Nayar]], reportedly described him as being a proud Pakistani who wanted to show the world that scientists from Pakistan are inferior to no one in the world.<ref name="iUniverse.com"/> Khan also served as project director of [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology]] and briefly tenured as professor of physics before joining the faculty of the [[Hamdard University]]; where he remained on the board of directors of the university up until his death in 2021.<ref name="Pakistan Academy of Sciences"/> Later, Khan helped established the A. Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering at [[Karachi University]].<ref name="Pakistan Academy of Sciences"/>

In 2012, Khan announced the formation of a conservative political advocacy group, [[Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Pakistan]] ('Movement for the Protection of Pakistan'). It was subsequently dissolved in 2013.<ref name="The Tribune Express">{{cite news |last=Gishkor |first=Zahid |title=AQ Khan set to launch own political party |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/426738/aq-khan-set-to-launch-own-political-party/#comment-885355 |access-date=18 October 2012 |newspaper=The Tribune Express |date=27 August 2012 |archive-date=1 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101112841/http://tribune.com.pk/story/426738/aq-khan-set-to-launch-own-political-party/#comment-885355 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Illness and death==
In August 2021, Khan was admitted to Khan Research Laboratories Hospital after testing positive for [[COVID-19]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Dr Abdul Qadeer disappointed with PM Imran for not inquiring after his health |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1646040 |work=Dawn |date=13 September 2021 |access-date=10 October 2021 |archive-date=8 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008092051/https://www.dawn.com/news/1646040 |url-status=live }}</ref> Khan died on 10 October 2021, at the age of 85, after being transferred to a hospital in Islamabad with lung problems.<ref>{{cite web | title = Abdul Qadeer Khan: 'Father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb' dies | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-58861473 | website = BBC News | date = 10 October 2021 | access-date = 10 October 2021 | archive-date = 10 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211010080723/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-58861473 | url-status = live }}</ref> He was given a [[state funeral]] at the [[Faisal Mosque]] before being buried at the [[H-8, Islamabad|H-8 graveyard]] in Islamabad.<ref name="Dawn">{{cite news |title=Nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan given state funeral, laid to rest in Islamabad |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1651191/nuclear-scientist-dr-abdul-qadeer-khan-given-state-funeral-laid-to-rest-in-islamabad |work=Dawn |date=10 October 2021 |access-date=10 October 2021 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011031052/https://www.dawn.com/news/1651191/nuclear-scientist-dr-abdul-qadeer-khan-given-state-funeral-laid-to-rest-in-islamabad |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, [[Imran Khan]], expressed grief over his death in a [[Twitter|tweet]] adding that "for the people of Pakistan he was a national icon". President of Pakistan [[Arif Alvi]] also expressed sadness adding that "a grateful nation will never forget his services".<ref name="Dawn"/>

==Legacy==
[[File:On Youth Assemblage to Ignite Khudi.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Khan attending literary conference with members of a civic society in 2017. Despite controversy, Khan remained a popular public figure.<ref name="Story of Pakistan Press Foundation" />]]
During his time in the atomic bomb project, Khan pioneered research in the [[thermal quantum field theory]] and [[condensed matter physics]], while he co-authored articles on chemical reactions of the highly unstable isotope particles in the controlled physical system.<ref name="Proceedings of the Second National Symposium on Frontiners in Physics"/> He maintained his stance of the use of controversial technological solutions to both military and civilian problems, including the use of military technologies for civilian welfare. Khan also remained a vigorous advocate for a nuclear testing program and defence strength through nuclear weapons. He justified Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program as sparing his country the fate of Iraq or Libya.<ref name="GEO News (GNews)">{{Cite web |title=Nuclear capability saved Pakistan |work=Geo Television Network (GTN) |date=17 May 2011 |url=http://www.geo.tv/5-17-2011/81448.htm |access-date=8 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520233510/http://www.geo.tv/5-17-2011/81448.htm |archive-date=20 May 2011 }}</ref> In an interview in 2011, Khan maintained his stance on [[peace through strength]] and vigorously defended the nuclear weapons program as part of the deterrence policy:

{{blockquote|text=[P]akistan's motivation for nuclear weapons arose from a need to prevent "nuclear blackmail" by India. Had Iraq and Libya been nuclear powers, they wouldn't have been destroyed in the way we have seen recently.&nbsp;... If (Pakistan) had an [atomic] capability before 1971, we [Pakistanis] would not have lost half of our country after a disgraceful defeat. |sign=Abdul Qadeer Khan, <small>statement on 16 May 2011, published in ''Newsweek''</small><ref>{{cite web |last=Khan |first=Abdul Qadeer |title=I saved my country from nuclear blackmail |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/170253/i-saved-my-country-from-nuclear-blackmail/ |work=The Tribune |access-date=3 December 2011 |date=17 May 2011 |archive-date=18 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918185000/http://tribune.com.pk/story/170253/i-saved-my-country-from-nuclear-blackmail/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

During his work on the nuclear weapons program and onwards, Khan faced heated and intense criticism from his fellow theorists, most notably [[Pervez Hoodbhoy]] who contested his scientific understanding in quantum physics.<ref name="Chowk.com">{{Cite web |last=Hoodbhoy |first=Pervez |title=Bombs, Missiles and Pakistani Science: The Chaghi tests, and more recent Ghauri-II and Shaheen-I missile launches, have been deemed heroic symbols of high scientific achievement... Are they? |publisher=Chowk.com |date=4 May 1999 |url=http://www.chowk.com/Views/Science/Bombs-Missiles-and-Pakistani-Science |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110103062934/http://www.chowk.com/Views/Science/Bombs-Missiles-and-Pakistani-Science |archive-date=3 January 2011}}</ref> In addition, Khan's false claims that he was the "father" of the atomic bomb project since its inception and his personal attacks on [[Munir Ahmad Khan]] caused even greater animosity from his fellow theorists, and most particularly, within the general physics community, such as the [[Pakistan Physics Society]].<ref name="International Institute for Strategic Studies">{{Cite web |work=International Institute for Strategic Studies |title=Bhutto was father of Pakistan's Atom Bomb Program |year=2006 |url=http://www.iiss.org/whats-new/iiss-in-the-press/press-coverage-2007/may-2007/bhutto-was-father-of-pakistani-bomb/?locale=en |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314025504/http://www.iiss.org/whats-new/iiss-in-the-press/press-coverage-2007/may-2007/bhutto-was-father-of-pakistani-bomb/?locale=en |archive-date=14 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="Chowk.com"/>

Various motivations have been cited for Khan's role in the proliferation of nuclear weapons. According to the editor-in-chief of ''[[Foreign Policy]]'', [[Moisés Naím]], although his actions were certainly ideological or political in nature, Khan's motives remain essentially financial. This is evidenced, according to him, by his commercial manoeuvres, his presence in North Korean trade as well as his real estate ownerships.<ref>''Le Livre noir de l'économie mondiale'' - {{p.|61}}.</ref> For instance, Khan owned the Hendrina Khan Hotel in [[Timbuktu]], named after his wife. It was one of dozens of his commercial enterprises. To build his hotel in Timbuktu, he reportedly used a [[Pakistan Air Force]] [[C-130]] transport aircraft in the early 2000s to transport carved wooden furniture. The plane landed at [[Tripoli International Airport|Tripoli Airport]] in Libya and the cargo was then taken to Timbuktu by road as it was unable to land in Mali. Khan himself accompanied the furniture from Islamabad.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Khan-built-hotel-in-Timbuktu/articleshow/468409.cms Khan built hotel in Timbuktu]. ''[[Times of India]]''. 2004.</ref> His wife, two daughters and brother Abdul Quyuim Khan were all named in the [[Panama Papers (Asia)|Panama Papers]] in 2016 as owners of Wahdat Ltd., an [[offshore company]] registered in the Bahamas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Husain |first=Khurram |date=14 May 2016 |title=A.Q. Khan's family figures in Panama Papers |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1258287 |access-date=6 September 2022 |website=[[DAWN.COM]] |language=en}}</ref>

Bruno Tertrais, a senior researcher at the [[Foundation for Strategic Research]] states: "Khan's motivations were complex and evolving (...) The primary motivation seems to have been to ensure the legitimacy of his role in building Pakistan's nuclear force (...) The second motivation, which has become more important over time, is personal enrichment. Finally, the third important element of varying importance depending on the hypothesis: Khan's more or less diffuse desire to see other Muslim countries access nuclear power."<ref>{{cite web|title=Le "père" de la bombe atomique pakistanaise est libre|url=http://blog.lefigaro.fr/inde/2009/02/le-pere-de-la-bombe-atomique-p.html|website=[[Le Figaro]]|language=fr|date=February 2009}}</ref>

In spite of the proliferation controversy and his volatile personality, Khan remained a popular public figure and has been as a symbol of national pride with many in Pakistan who see him as a national hero.<ref name="GEO News (GNews)" /><ref name="The New York Review of Books">{{cite journal |last=Bernstein |first=Jeremy |author-link=Jeremy Bernstein |title=He Changed History |journal=The New York Review of Books |date=28 May 2009 |volume=56 |issue=6 |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2009/apr/09/he-changed-history/ |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-date=15 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915214926/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2009/apr/09/he-changed-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> While Khan has been bestowed with many medals and honours by the federal government and universities in Pakistan, Khan also remains the only citizen of Pakistan to have been honoured twice with the [[Nishan-e-Imtiaz]].<ref>Abdul Qadeer Khan (HI, NI & Bar) remains the only Pakistani who got the Nishan-i-Imtiaz, the highest civil award twice. He also got the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, along with Munir Ahmad Khan, in 1989. A</ref><ref>Shabbir, Usman, ''Remembering Unsung Heroes: Munir Ahmed Khan'', Defence Journal, 27 June 2004</ref>

{{Col-begin}}{{Col-break|width=50%}}
*[[Nishan-e-Imtiaz]] (1999)
*Nishan-e-Imtiaz (1996)
*[[Hilal-e-Imtiaz]] (1989)
*[[Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology]]<ref name="Pakistan Academy of Sciences"/>
*60 [[Gold medal]] from universities in the country.<ref name="Pakistan Academy of Sciences"/>
{{Col-break}}
*[[University of Karachi]]<ref name="Pakistan Academy of Sciences"/>
*[[Baqai Medical University]]<ref>
{{cite web |last=Khan |first=Abdul Qadeer |title=Islamic Academy of Sciences Fellowship members |publisher=Islamic Academy of Sciences |url=http://www.ias-worldwide.org/profiles/prof85.htm |date=1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020128020631/http://www.ias-worldwide.org/profiles/prof85.htm |archive-date=28 January 2002 }}
</ref>
*[[Hamdard University]]<ref name="Pakistan Academy of Sciences"/>
*[[Gomal University]]<ref name="Pakistan Academy of Sciences"/>
*[[University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore]]<ref name="Pakistan Academy of Sciences"/>

{{Col-end}}

==Publications==
===Selected research papers and patents===
====Nuclear and material physics====
* [[Dilation (morphology)|Dilation investigation]] of [[Phase transition|metallic phase transformation]] in 18% [[Nickel|Ni]] maraging steels, ''Proceedings of the International Conf. on Martensitic Transformations'' (1986), The Japan Institute of Metals, pp.&nbsp;560–565.
* The spread of Nuclear weapons among nations: Militarization or Development, pp.&nbsp;417–430. (Ref. Nuclear War Nuclear Proliferation and their consequences "Proceedings of the 5th International Colloquium organised by the Group De Bellerive Geneva 27–29 June 1985", Edited by: Sadruddin Aga Khan, Published by Clarendon Press-Oxford 1986).
* Flow-induced vibrations in [[Gas-filled tube|Gas-tube assembly]] of [[Gas centrifuge|centrifuges]]. ''Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology'', 23(9) (September 1986), pp.&nbsp;819–827.
*Dimensional [[Anisotropy#Material science and engineering|anisotropy]] in 18% of maraging steel,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Murtaza |first=Ghulam |author2=Zhahour Ahmad |title=Condense Matter Physics |journal=Seven National Symposium on Frontiers in Physics |date=21 November 1998 |volume=7 |series=7 |issue=7 |pages=2/3 |url=http://pps-pak.org/proceedings/Seventh-Proc-1998.pdf |access-date=16 January 2012 |archive-date=31 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231215516/http://pps-pak.org/proceedings/Seventh-Proc-1998.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Seven National Symposium on Frontiers in Physics, written with Anwar-ul-Haq, Mohammad Farooq, S. Qaisar, published at the [[Pakistan Physics Society]] (1998).
* [[Thermodynamics]] of [[Thermodynamic equilibrium|Non-equilibrium phases]] in [[Electron beam welding|Electron-beam]] rapid [[Freezing|solidification]],<ref name="Proceedings of the Second National Symposium on Frontiners in Physics">{{cite web |title=Frontiers in Physics |url=http://pps-pak.org/proceedings/Second-Proc-1988.pdf |work=13 December 1988 |publisher=Proceedings of the Second National Symposium on Frontiners in Physics |access-date=16 January 2012 |archive-date=23 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523000441/http://pps-pak.org/proceedings/Second-Proc-1988.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Proceedings of the Second National Symposium on Frontiers in Physics, written with A. Tauqeer, Fakhar Hashmi, publisher [[Pakistan Physics Society]] (1988).

===Books===
* {{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Abdul Qadeer |title=Advances in Physical Metallurgy |publisher=[[Elsevier Press]] |year=1972 |location=Amsterdam, Netherlands |language=en, de, nl }}
* {{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Abdul Qadeer |title=Metallurgical Thermodynamics and Kinetics |publisher=The Proceedings of the [[Pakistan Academy of Sciences]] |year=1983 |location=Islamabad, Pakistan |language=en, de, nl }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Abdul Qadeer |first2=Syed Shabbir |last2=Hussain |first3=Mujahid |last3=Kamran |author-link3=Mujahid Kamran |title=Dr. A.Q. Khan on science and education |publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publications |year=1997 |location=Islamabad, Pakistan |isbn=978-969-35-0821-5 }}

==See also==
* [[Dr. A. Q. Khan Institute of Computer Sciences and Information Technology]]
* [[Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories]]
* [[Pakistani missile research and development program]]
* [[Conservatism in Pakistan]]
* [[Nuclear espionage]]
* [[Nuclear arms race]]
* ''[[Nuclear Secrets]]'', 2007 documentary series about the nuclear race and proliferation including Khan's role therein
* [[Anwar Ali (physicist)]], Pakistani physicist charged with nuclear proliferation
* [[Peter Finke]], German physicist in the nuclear weapons programme of Pakistan

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* Burr, William. "The 'Labors of Atlas, Sisyphus, or Hercules'? US Gas-Centrifuge Policy and Diplomacy, 1954–60." ''The International History Review'' 37.3 (2015): 431–457.
*{{Cite book |last=Khan |first=Abdul Qadeer |contribution=Sehar Honay Tak: Dr. A.Q. Khan gave us the sense of security, [[Javed Hashmi]]. |pages=1–158|editor-last=Khan |editor-first=Abdul Qadeer|title=Sehar Honay Tak |location=Islamabad, Pakistan |year=2010 |publisher=Ali Masud books}}{{clarify|reason=Khan is author and editor and subject? WP:RS?|date=February 2022}}
*{{Cite book |last=Upadhyaya |first=Gopal S. |contribution=Dr. A.Q. Khan of Pakistan |pages=138–140|title=Men of Metals and Materials: My Memoires |location=Bloomington, IN |year=2011 |publisher=iUniverse.com }}
*{{Cite book |last=Rahman |first=Shahid |contribution=Dr. A. Q. Khan: Nothing Succeed like Success |pages=49–60|editor-last=Rahman |editor-first=Shahid|title=Long Road to Chagai |location=Islamabad, Pakistan |year=1998 |isbn=969-8500-00-6 |publisher=Printwise publication }}
*{{Cite book |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Mark |contribution=Dr. A. Q. Khan and the rise and fall of proliferation network |title=Nuclear black markets |location=London, UK |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-86079-201-7 |publisher=International Institute for Strategic Studies }}
*{{Cite book |last=Kan |first=Shirley A. |contribution=A.Q. Khan's nuclear network |pages=5–6 |title=China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy issues |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Congressional Research Service |year=2009}}
*{{Cite book |contribution=A.Q. Khan and the nuclear market |editor-last=Cooney |editor-first=Thomas E. |editor2-last=Denny |editor2-first=David Anthony |pages=30–33 |title=E=mc<sup>2</sup>: Today's Nuclear Equation |location=Washington, DC: United States |year=2005 |isbn=<!--United States Department of State--> |publisher=Judith S. Seagal}}{{clarify|reason=So who is the publisher? Seagal or US Dept. of State?|date=February 2022}}
*{{cite book |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jeremy |title=Physicists on Wall Street and other essays on science and society |date=2008 |publisher=Springer |location=New York |isbn=978-0-387-76506-8 }}
{{Refend}}

'''Web links'''
{{Col-begin}}{{Col-break|width=50%}}
*[http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people/Khan,+Abdul+Qadeer Annotated bibliography for A.Q. Khan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714213711/http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people%2FKhan%2C+Abdul+Qadeer |date=14 July 2007 }}
*[http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Pakistan/AQKhan.html The Physics war of Munir Khan and A.Q. Khan]
*{{cite news |title=The Wrath of Khan |date=November 2005 |publisher=The Atlantic Monthly |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200511/aq-khan}}
*[https://fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/facility/kahuta.htm "Kahuta Research Laboratories"], [[Federation of American Scientists]].
*{{cite news |title=Unraveling the A. Q. Khan and Future Proliferation Networks |date=Spring 2005 |publisher=The Washington Quarterly |url=http://www.twq.com/05spring/index.cfm?id=147 |access-date=30 April 2005 |archive-date=7 April 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407114729/http://www.twq.com/05spring/index.cfm?id=147 }}
{{Col-break}}
*{{cite news |title=Tracking the technology |work=Nuclear Engineering International |url=http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=76&storyCode=2024442 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041227180006/http://www.neimagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=76&storyCode=2024442 |archive-date=27 December 2004}}
*{{cite news |title=BBC profile |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3343621.stm}}
*{{cite news |title=Pakistan's Nuclear Father, Master Spy |publisher=MSNBC |url=http://www.msnbc.com/news/765161.asp}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071211202525/http://www.democracynow.org/2007/11/19/deception_british_reporter_andrew_levy_on British Reporter Adrian Levy: The United States Secretly Helped Pakistan Build Its Nuclear Arsenal]
*{{cite news |title=Are-Pakistani-Ahmadis-Loyal-to-their-Homeland |publisher=Pakistani Tribune |url=http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/13526/are-pakistani-ahmadis-loyal-to-their-homeland/}}
{{Col-end}}

==External links==
* {{Official|https://web.archive.org/web/20190710023836/http://www.draqkhan.com.pk/}}
* [https://www.paspk.org/fellow-profile/?fellowID=59 Abdul Quadeer Khan] at the [[Pakistan Academy of Sciences]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020628001132/http://ias-worldwide.org/profiles/prof85.htm Prof. Abdul Qadeer Khan] at the [[Islamic World Academy of Sciences|Islamic Academy of Sciences]]
* [http://upstart.bizjournals.com/news-markets/international-news/portfolio/2007/11/19/Abdul-Qadeer-Khan-Profile.html Why He Went Nuclear] by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins

'''Written by Abdul Qadeer Khan'''
*[http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-113777-Heart-disease-Random-thoughts Heart disease Random thoughts] 11 June 2012
*[http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-112315-More-on-thalassemia More on thalassemia] 4 June 2012
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120618124026/http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-110931-Memorable-Karachi Memorable Karachi] 28 May 2012
*[http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-108179-Great-expectations Great expectations] 14 May 2012
*[http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9-105766-Mass-graves Mass graves] 30 April 2012
*[http://tribune.com.pk/story/170253/i-saved-my-country-from-nuclear-blackmail/ I saved my country] 1 November 2012

'''Online books'''
*{{cite book |author=Scott-Clark, Adrian Levy & Catherine |title=Deception: Pakistan, the United States, and the secret trade in nuclear weapons |year=2007 |publisher=Walker & Co. |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8027-1554-8 |edition=1st |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/deceptionpakista00levy }}
*{{cite book |author=Upadhyaya, Gopal S. |title=Men of metals and materials: my memoirs |publisher=iUniverse |location=Bloomington, IN |isbn=978-1-4620-1840-6 |page=138 |chapter=Dr. A.Q. Khan of Pakistan |date=1 May 2011}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef|before =[[Ishfaq Ahmad]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Science and Technology (Pakistan)#Science Advisors|Science Advisor to the Presidential Secretariat]] | years =1 January 2001&nbsp;– 31 January 2004}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Atta ur Rahman (scientist)|Atta ur Rahman]]}}
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{{s-end}}
{{Project-706}}
{{Pakistanspaceagency}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Abdul Qadeer}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Islamabad]]
[[Category:People from Bhopal State]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to Pakistan]]
[[Category:Muhajir people]]
[[Category:D. J. Sindh Government Science College alumni]]
[[Category:University of Karachi alumni]]
[[Category:Pakistani physicists]]
[[Category:Engineers from Karachi]]
[[Category:20th-century Pakistani engineers]]
[[Category:Pakistani expatriates in Germany]]
[[Category:Pakistani expatriates in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Delft University of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology]]
[[Category:Pakistani expatriates in Belgium]]
[[Category:Catholic University of Leuven alumni]]
[[Category:Theoretical chemists]]
[[Category:Pakistani metallurgists]]
[[Category:Project-706 people]]
[[Category:Pakistani nuclear physicists]]
[[Category:Weapons scientists and engineers]]
[[Category:Materials scientists and engineers]]
[[Category:Pakistani inventors]]
[[Category:Pakistani spies]]
[[Category:Scientists from Islamabad]]
[[Category:Founders of Pakistani schools and colleges]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Hamdard University]]
[[Category:Fellows of Pakistan Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Theoretical physicists]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology]]
[[Category:Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz]]
[[Category:Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz]]
[[Category:Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission people]]
[[Category:Recipients of Pakistani presidential pardons]]
[[Category:Pakistani memoirists]]
[[Category:Pakistani technology writers]]
[[Category:Pakistani textbook writers]]
[[Category:Pakistani columnists]]
[[Category:Members of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Nuclear proliferation]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons scientists and engineers]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Scientists from Karachi]]