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Book reveals why Dr Khan was removed from KRL
By Iftikhar A. Khan
Friday, 23 Oct, 2009
Dr Khan was removed as the chairman after he resisted oversight of his operations by the Command and Control set-up.
ISLAMABAD: Dr A. Q. Khan was removed as chairman of the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) after he resisted oversight of his operations by the Command and Control set-up, reveals a book launched here on Thursday.
Brig (retd) Naeem Ahmad Salik has authored the book titled The genesis of South Asian nuclear programme: Pakistans perspective.
Brig Salik, who retired four years ago, was among a small group of officers who conceived and set up the nuclear command and control structure and formulated the nuclear policy after the May 1998 tests.
Currently, he is teaching at National Defence University (NDU) and is associated with the Department of Nuclear Politics and Strategic Stability in the faculty of contemporary studies.
The book says that after the establishment of the National Command and Control Authority in February 2000, the Strategic Plans Division started looking into the work of the strategic organisations.
It immediately met resistance from Dr Khan who did not want anyone to pry into his domain. There were, however, indications that something was amiss.
But without concrete evidence, laying hands on a person of Dr Khans stature could have meant political suicide for the government.
Yet, a decision was made to relieve Dr Khan as the KRL chairman and he was consequently retired on the expiry of his term of office.
Brig Salik says that throughout his procurement efforts, Dr Khan used Dubai as staging point where he reportedly had a warehouse managed by two Sri Lankan associates.
At some stage, in the late 1980s, Dr Khan realised that Pakistans programme was reaching a plateau, and he could profitably use his technical expertise, knowledge of European suppliers and personal rapport with them by reversing the flow of enrichment technology.
In addition, Dr Khan had developed a more efficient second-generation centrifuge known as P-2. As the P-2s replaced P-1 centrifuges, he had a surplus inventory of used P-1 machines.
The book refers to an allegation that the first contact with the Iranians took place in Switzerland, facilitated by a German engineer named Gotthard Lerch, a supplier and long-time friend of Dr Khan.
The first substantive exchange is reported to have taken place in Dubai in 1987. The network is reported to have handed over a one-page handwritten offer to the Iranians, detailing packages with prices ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.
It says investigations by Pakistani officials and other sources established that most of Dr Khans proliferation activities reportedly took place between 1988 and 1999.
Speaking at the launching ceremony of the book published by Oxford University Press, former chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen (retd) Ehsanul Haq observed that the initial vulnerability of Pakistans strategic assets was over and nuclear weapons were fully secure under multi-layered safeguards.
He said robust custodial measures and strong export control regime were in place. Gen Haq said that the countrys nuclear programme was a product of national consensus, adding that successive governments had made contributions to consolidate it.
He called for maintaining this consensus and said it must not be allowed to be damaged at any cost.
Expressing the hope that a nuclear doctrine document of the country would be coming forth, he said things stood strategised.
Gen (retd) Haq said that nuclear deterrence had been the cornerstone of strategic stability in South Asia. He pointed out that Pakistans nuclear programme was India-centric.
We were not the first to test a nuclear device and hope will not conduct more tests unless India does so, he said.
Pakistan cannot afford and does not want to enter into a nuclear arms race with India, he said, adding that Pakistan had the capability to thwart any aggressive designs of the adversary.
Gen Haq said Pakistan could handle its security environment if there were no overloads from outside.
Defining external overloads, he talked about Afghan border and Afghan refugees, predator attacks by the US and sermons to do more as well as the lingering Jammu and Kashmir dispute and Indias interference in Balochistan.
Ambassador Tariq Osman Hyder of NDU and defence analysts Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi and Dr Riffat Hussain also spoke.
Oxford University Press managing director Ameena Sayed presented address of welcome while Brig Salik made concluding remarks.
By Iftikhar A. Khan
Friday, 23 Oct, 2009
Dr Khan was removed as the chairman after he resisted oversight of his operations by the Command and Control set-up.
ISLAMABAD: Dr A. Q. Khan was removed as chairman of the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) after he resisted oversight of his operations by the Command and Control set-up, reveals a book launched here on Thursday.
Brig (retd) Naeem Ahmad Salik has authored the book titled The genesis of South Asian nuclear programme: Pakistans perspective.
Brig Salik, who retired four years ago, was among a small group of officers who conceived and set up the nuclear command and control structure and formulated the nuclear policy after the May 1998 tests.
Currently, he is teaching at National Defence University (NDU) and is associated with the Department of Nuclear Politics and Strategic Stability in the faculty of contemporary studies.
The book says that after the establishment of the National Command and Control Authority in February 2000, the Strategic Plans Division started looking into the work of the strategic organisations.
It immediately met resistance from Dr Khan who did not want anyone to pry into his domain. There were, however, indications that something was amiss.
But without concrete evidence, laying hands on a person of Dr Khans stature could have meant political suicide for the government.
Yet, a decision was made to relieve Dr Khan as the KRL chairman and he was consequently retired on the expiry of his term of office.
Brig Salik says that throughout his procurement efforts, Dr Khan used Dubai as staging point where he reportedly had a warehouse managed by two Sri Lankan associates.
At some stage, in the late 1980s, Dr Khan realised that Pakistans programme was reaching a plateau, and he could profitably use his technical expertise, knowledge of European suppliers and personal rapport with them by reversing the flow of enrichment technology.
In addition, Dr Khan had developed a more efficient second-generation centrifuge known as P-2. As the P-2s replaced P-1 centrifuges, he had a surplus inventory of used P-1 machines.
The book refers to an allegation that the first contact with the Iranians took place in Switzerland, facilitated by a German engineer named Gotthard Lerch, a supplier and long-time friend of Dr Khan.
The first substantive exchange is reported to have taken place in Dubai in 1987. The network is reported to have handed over a one-page handwritten offer to the Iranians, detailing packages with prices ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.
It says investigations by Pakistani officials and other sources established that most of Dr Khans proliferation activities reportedly took place between 1988 and 1999.
Speaking at the launching ceremony of the book published by Oxford University Press, former chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen (retd) Ehsanul Haq observed that the initial vulnerability of Pakistans strategic assets was over and nuclear weapons were fully secure under multi-layered safeguards.
He said robust custodial measures and strong export control regime were in place. Gen Haq said that the countrys nuclear programme was a product of national consensus, adding that successive governments had made contributions to consolidate it.
He called for maintaining this consensus and said it must not be allowed to be damaged at any cost.
Expressing the hope that a nuclear doctrine document of the country would be coming forth, he said things stood strategised.
Gen (retd) Haq said that nuclear deterrence had been the cornerstone of strategic stability in South Asia. He pointed out that Pakistans nuclear programme was India-centric.
We were not the first to test a nuclear device and hope will not conduct more tests unless India does so, he said.
Pakistan cannot afford and does not want to enter into a nuclear arms race with India, he said, adding that Pakistan had the capability to thwart any aggressive designs of the adversary.
Gen Haq said Pakistan could handle its security environment if there were no overloads from outside.
Defining external overloads, he talked about Afghan border and Afghan refugees, predator attacks by the US and sermons to do more as well as the lingering Jammu and Kashmir dispute and Indias interference in Balochistan.
Ambassador Tariq Osman Hyder of NDU and defence analysts Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi and Dr Riffat Hussain also spoke.
Oxford University Press managing director Ameena Sayed presented address of welcome while Brig Salik made concluding remarks.
and afterwards Libya openly confessed that A.Q Khan was involved in supplying it nuclear components and Irans centrifuge was found to be P-1 type,so the Muslims countries who were supplied by Khan openly blamed him. 
