Pakistan's Attempt to Sell
Borrowed Nuclear Techno
Ramnarayan Gopalkrishnan
Pakistan's Attempt to Sell Borrowed Nuclear Technology
The recent Kargil issue has amply demonstrated, as a nation what
role Pakistan plays in the background of ongoing Islamic terrorism
and genocide happening in Kashmir, North East and other border
regions of India. Pakistan's involvement in recruitment, training,
arming and induction of Islamic terrorist bands, besides guidance
in planning and conduct of operations are an well-established
facts now. However, Pakistan's recent nuclear capabilities
borrowed from nations like China have added new dimension to the
critical situation. The very thought of a rogue nation like
Pakistan run by Islamic fundamentalists with their fingers on
nuclear bombs has given birth to the worst fear of human race. A
detailed report published by LA Times on the involvement of North
Korean scientists in Pakistani nuclear labs indicates that the
fear may not be far from the truth.
The report published on August 23, 1999 and written by Dexter
Filkins, a former LA Times Correspondent in Islamabad starts with
a mysterious account of the murder of a North Korean diplomat's
wife in Islamabad. The Pakistani police filed no reports regarding
this murder and the newspapers were dead silent about the issue.
Kang Thae Yun, the diplomat whose wife was killed, is believed to
be a key figure in North Korea's secretive missile program. It was
reported that he left Pakistan immediately after his wife's
murder. Kang Thae Yun, is notorious as one of North Korea's
busiest arms dealers. In 1997, while living in Islamabad, Kang
brokered a deal with an unidentified Russian company to bring
"maraging steel" to Pakistan and North Korea, Western
experts say. Maraging steel is a key component of missile bodies
and nosecones. Kang is also suspected of arranging the delivery of
North Korean missile components to Egypt.
Kang was also the local director of the North Korean Mining
Development Trading Corp., which US officials believe is a major
organization for North Korean arms sales. This is the company that
Washington sanctioned after the Pakistani missile test in April,
1998.
The motive behind Kang's wife death published in the LA Times
report gives significant insight into the dangerous developments
talking place in Pakistan under the rule of Islamic fanatics. The
report says, "She was killed on purpose - probably by her own
government- because she was spilling secrets about North Korea's
missile and nuclear programs or because she was planning to
defect. She was murdered".
The LA time story referred to the event in June 99, when Indian
government officials seized a North Korean cargo ship that was
bound for a Pakistani port. Indian officials found that Ku-Wol-San,
the North Korean ship that was detained at the Kandla port was
carrying missile parts and blue prints to build a ballistic
missile manufacturing factory in Pakistan. The officials revealed
that the ship contained vital components of Pyongyang's hi-tech
Nodong I ballistic missile. This discovery by the Indians
presented concrete proof to the world community that the communist
nation of North Korea actively supplies missile building
technology to a terrorist nation like Pakistan.
Pakistan's attempt to develop nuclear technologies over last two
decades has a history of theft, lies and espionage. Almost all the
major components of Pakistani Nuclear program have been borrowed
from nations like China, Germany, Netherlands etc. And as a
perfect match for the Islamic zealots, who are running the nation,
Pakistan has a thug and an international convict as the 'father'
of their nuclear program.
The Pakistani nuclear weapons program began in great secrecy in
the 1970s after the Indian test of a nuclear device in 1974.
Serious work commenced in 1976 with the establishment of the
Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL).
The Pakistani program is based on a centrifuge uranium enrichment
plant, using technology misappropriated from the European uranium
centrifuge consortium URENCO and China.
The source of the intelligence gathered at URENCO, and the driving
force behind its development into an industrial scale process in
Pakistan, is a Pakistani metallurgist named Dr. Abdul Qader Khan,
who can be fairly called the father of the Pakistani nuclear
program.
A. Q. Khan was employed from 1972 to 1975 by Ultra-Centrifuge
Nederland (UCN) the Dutch partner in the URENCO consortium where
he worked with two early centrifuge designs, the CNOR and SNOR
machines. In 1974 UCN asked Khan to translate classified design
documents for two advanced German machines, the G-1 and G-2. He
left then Europe, before his espionage was detected, and assumed
technical leadership of the program at ERL. Due to his efforts,
the slow recognition of the program by western intelligence, and
the weak export controls at the time, Pakistan started making some
progress in developing U-235 production capability.
Khan, 'the father of Pakistani nuclear program' was convicted of
espionage in the Netherlands in 1983 in absentia and sentenced to
four years in prison.
During the late 70s and early 80s, a number of Pakistani agents
were arrested trying to violate export control laws in the west.
In 1984 three Pakistani nationals were indicted in the US for
attempting to smuggle out 50 krytrons (high speed switches
suitable for implosion detonation systems), and in 1987 the
purchase of US maraging steel was attempted. Large quantities of
materials were successfully purchased without being detected,
including a German uranium hexafluoride manufacturing plant.
The Pakistani facility located at Kahuta gas centrifuge plant
began operating in the early 1980s, but suffered serious start up
problems. It is believed that China offered significant technical
assistance in exchange for URENCO technology.
While China's help for the Khushab reactor producing plutonium has
received wide publicity, the role of West European countries like
Germany in making available many of the critical components to
Pakistan, had gone almost unnoticed. It is said that as early as
the 70s, the USA and other western allies, as part of the cold war
strategy, had arranged scholarships and training to a large number
of Pakistani nuclear scientists and experts. By 1974, when India
had conducted its first nuclear experiment, about 50 Pakistani
specialists had been getting training at various levels in USA,
Canada and West European countries.
Technology for enrichment in the nuclear project at Kahuta was
designed and manufactured with the assistance of the Dutch
company, Ultra Centrifuge, German Kalhof and Neul technologies
GMBH. Ring magnets for overhauling these centrifuges were received
from China.
The unit used by the Pakistani nuclear specialists for the
required production of heavy water was received from the Belgian
company, Nuklear Technic GMBH. The Norwegian press recently
published a series of articles revealing the facts about the
delivery of zirconium tubes to Islamabad by certain Norweigian
firms. In a report in Klassen Kampen entitled 'Norwegian exports
behind Pak nuclear bombs', nuclear specialist Knut Lunde gave
details of the vital supplies to Pakistan by their firms.
Another newspaper, Aften Posten, said Norwegian computer
equipment, itself from an unsourced country had been used for the
creation of the "Islamic" bomb.
The recent involvement of Pakistan in North Korean nuclear program
should not come as a surprise to anyone who is even vaguely
familiar with the fanatic Islamic mentality displayed by
Pakistanis to build nuclear technologies to be used in 'Jehad'
under the divine guidance of 'Allah'. Pakistan will not think
twice to make some quick money out of its borrowed technology by
selling it to countries like North Korea who are in dire need of
it.
Henry Sokolski, an arms control expert in Washington summarizes
the issue quite succinctly by saying, "Pakistan has the bomb,
wants North Korea's missiles and doesn't have any money. North
Korea has missiles and wants the bomb".
It is very easy to imagine what would happen if a terrorist nation
like Pakistan starts selling its borrowed nuclear technologies to
other irresponsible nations. If this situation continues, its a
matter time before the world witnesses a new dimension of barbaric
Islamic terrorism far more horrible than what was committed by the
worst of Qasems, Ghoris or Aurnagzebs.
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