Story of Pakistan’s bomb

Pakistan’s political leadership could be disgraced and discredited for many alleged misdeeds nor that others are angels, too, but, one credit which no one could take away from them was their role in making Pakistan, a nuclear power.

The story began with the role of programme’s founder and former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his dream to make his country a nuclear power and he paid a heavy price for that. As the nation observes “Youm-e-Takbeer’ today when in 1998 former premier Nawaz Sharif rejected the US offer for economic assistance had it showed restrain from going ‘tit for tat’ response to India’s five nuclear tests and gave go ahead to the military leadership and Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, it is time to recall the nuclear programme journey. We may have a strong defence today, what is needed and no doubt that we are still far behind in it, is to make Pakistan, an economic power for which both political and economic stability is must and no more adventures.

During all these years, Pakistan went through many political crises, long martial laws, becoming frontline state in two Afghan wars but the civil and military leadership remained on one page on this programme.

The journey to bomb began with ZAB, when he was first inducted as a minister in President Ayub Khan’s cabinet in 1958 at a very young age as minister for fuel, electricity and natural resources and had harboured a conviction that Pakistan had to go nuclear.

He began transforming Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) sending hundreds of young scientists abroad for training under 1956 Pak-US civil-nuclear programme. He brought otherwise dead PAEC into action. It was during 1965 Indo-Pak war, when Bhutto stated in one of his speeches, “If India builds the bomb, we will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of ours”.

He even had warned Field Marshal Ayub Khan that India was working on it and Pakistan should also start its own nuclear programme without getting much response. He had even alerted China’s supreme leader Chairman Mao.

In 1971, Pakistan lost the war to India and the tragedy of East Pakistan shattered the dreams of many. The nation was completely demoralised and both civil and military leadership were blamed. Bhutto too faced the criticism for his political role in it.

So, much of the responsibility was on his shoulders to build a ‘Naya Pakistan’ and in a bid to raise the morale he called the meeting of the eminent scientists in Multan at the residence of Nawaz Sadiq Hussain Qureshi and asked them ‘can you give me the bomb’. Many of those present in the meeting said they were surprised over his request. Some senior scientists suggested that Pakistan just didn’t have the infrastructure for the kind of programme and believed they were far behind India. Bhutto repeated his question ‘Can you give me one’?

Dr Ishrat Usmani and Dr Samar Mubarakmand, who attended the meeting reportedly said the young scientists got excited and some of them said “Yes, it would be possible”. Bhutto’s next question was “in how many years”. “May be in five years”; Bhutto thrusted three fingers and said “I want in three years”.

Pakistan never looked back. Bhutto left for a whirlwind tour of Islamic countries for their support as he was than quoted saying “this is a very serious political decision which Pakistan must make, and perhaps all the Third World countries must take one day”.

Former Libyan leader late Col Mummar Gaddafi was the first who greeted Bhutto, when he came to know about his plan and promised all kind of support. Others who backed him included Saudi Arabia’s Shah Faisal and Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat.

Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the man who made the bomb for Pakistan, was also the product of ZAB. In one of his interviews with me, the noted nuclear scientist, who too was disgraced by Gen Pervez Musharraf (retd) described Bhutto as the ‘greatest nationalist he has ever come across’. Gen Zia did disservice to Pakistan by hanging Bhutto, despite my repeated appeals to him. I even went to some countries including Turkey for using their influence on him”.

Had he not been hanged or ousted from power, Pakistan would have become a nuclear power in late 70s, he stated. Bhutto was such a shrewd politician that in his only second meeting with AQ Khan, he said, “Khan is the only man who can fulfill my dream of making Pakistan a nuclear power”.

Khan said Bhutto gave him complete independence, power and authorities. “I still remembered the day when I met him to complain about some hurdles and red-tapism. He called the meeting of all officials concerned and told them that consider Khan’s order as mine. I don’t want any complaint again,” AQ Khan said.

When the American administration came to know about Bhutto’s ambition and particularly after India conducted the first nuclear test, they sent its Secretary of State Dr Henry Kissinger with both ‘carrot and stick’ proposal and warning.

Years back I had interviewed one of the senior US officials posted at the US embassy in Islamabad, and who was a witness to the famous meeting between Kissinger and Bhutto, confirmed the hard talk between the two.

The talks failed and the events which followed after 1977 elections not only saw the fall of Bhutto, imposition of martial law but also his hanging. He was made the ‘horrible example’ as allegedly warned by the then US administration.

The journey to nuclear programme did not stop despite long martial law and political turmoil, civil and military leadership remained on one page ie on nuclear programme.

Perhaps it is Pakistan’s hard luck that who had a role in nuclear programme that led to making the bomb had been penalised ie ZAB and Dr AQ Khan.

The writer is a senior columnist and analyst of Geo, The News and Jang

Twitter: @MazharAbbasGEO