Making Pakistan an atomic power

The journey to the making of bomb has never been an easy one nor the challenges after May 28th, 1998, when we joined the nuclear club. The whole country celebrated the six nuclear tests. Today, we are confronting new challenges of political and economic instability and security threats.

The post-nuclear Pakistan has more enemies than friends but if we overcome these challenges and explode the ‘economic bomb’ through China Pakistan Economic Corridor in the next few years, it would be the real gift to the new generation.

The world had never accepted Pakistan as the first Islamic nuclear country. We must accept our guilt of not doing much to save the real brain behind making Pakistan nuclear – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. This story once revealed to me by none other than the father of nuclear programme Dr Abdul Qadir Khan.

“Pakistan would have become a nuclear power in the 80s, had Bhutto survived. I had tried to save him and even secretly visited Turkey and other countries to exert pressure on Gen Ziaul Haq, not to hang Bhutto," he told me in a long interview some time back.

“I even met Zia and requested him that Bhutto was the real architect behind the nuclear programme and it would be disservice to execute such a person, but Zia was a hypocrite and he hanged him despite assurances,” AQ Khan said.

"To be very honest, Bhutto was one of the few real nationalist leaders this country had produced," he added. There are reasons to believe why AQ Khan was so fond of Bhutto, as it was he (ZAB) who had discovered him, while he was abroad, and brought to Pakistan after India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974.

"Pakistan needs you” was his first response when he met AQ Khan at the PM House. He was in a hurry and in one of the meetings with Pakistani nuclear scientists in Multan, he asked, "How much time it would take to make a bomb?" Most of them said, "At least five years, if we really go fast." Bhutto replied, "What about three years," and every raised slogans in jubilation.

When India first conducted the nuclear test, three years after 1971 war with Pakistan, it was a natural response. "India has started the nuclear race. Infact, it had started its programme in the 60s and I had told Ayub Khan in a cabinet meeting that we must start the programme," he told a press conference after India's test.

Pakistan started its nuclear programme after the world's mild reaction to India's test as Pakistan's security concerns were not address. The programme, later called described as ‘Islamic bomb’, alerted the World.

Knowing Bhutto's brilliance and enthusiasm particularly in the backdrop of his activities to bring the Third World and the Islamic World together, the US exerted pressure and finally gave him the choice to pick between stick and carrot. He rejected the carrot and paid the price.

AQ Khan said during his tenure Bhutto had given him absolute power. “One day I complained about bureaucratic hurdles. He called a meeting and told all the bureaucrats concerned that ‘if you get a call from Khan Sahab consider it as a call from me’. I never got any problem after that firm warning to the officers," he recalled.

The nuclear programme continued and the Soviet attack on Afghanistan came as blessing in disguise as the US needed Pakistan's proactive role. Though we are paying a heavy price of Afghan war till this day, but sanctions were lifted.

The bomb was ready by the mid 80s, but Pakistan did not want fresh sanctions, as it was getting huge aid because of the ‘Afghan jihad’.

After Zia's death in a plane crash and fresh elections in 1988, the PPP once again came into power after 11 years, but this time it was Benazir Bhutto who become the first woman prime minister of the Islamic World.

Ironically, Bhutto’s daughter once complained, “My father had launched this programme and they (the then establishment) declared me a security risk. Problems are created whenever I want to visit Kahuta," she said.

She blamed the then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, late Lt-Gen Hameed Gul and former army chief Gen Aslam Beg, as she never had a good relationship with them. Later, Lt-Gen Gul once admitted that he had misread her and described her as a true patriot.

She was also kept away from Afghan policy. But the fact remains that it was during her government Pakistan had launched the missile programme.

However, AQ Khan believes that GIK had also contributed a lot in the fast-paced nuclear programme. “Bomb was ready and I left it to the leadership to decide," he said, when the first news was leak through noted Indian journalist Mr Kuldip Nayar, when Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the editor of The Muslim, who was instrumental in arranging his meeting with AQ Khan.

When I once asked Mushahid about it, he said, "It got me in lot of trouble and as a result I also lost the job."

The one thing on which Pakistan's civil, military and the nation always united is making Pakistan an atomic power. Even those, who had dissenting views, also wanted Pakistan to become an atomic power, but after economic stability. They were concerned about post-nuclear Pakistan and the challenges ahead. Former editor of Dawn late Ahmad Ali Khan was one such person as he wrote in his book ‘In search of Sense’.

When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met the editors to take their views before he gave go ahead, I kept silent throughout the meeting and was just listening to my colleagues who were all in favour. So he looked towards me and asked, “Khan Sahab! Why you are so silent?” I said, “I am not sure it would be the right decision the kind of economic challenges we are facing."

India had conducted five tests on May 11 and 13, and pressure was mounting on the government. Sharif – who was in his second tenure – awaited the international reaction. It was India's uncalled action with Pakistan being left with no other choice but to conduct its test. AQ Khan was ready and so was his team.

For millions of Pakistanis, it was like a dream come true. I was in Lahore and got a different news which really hurt as I gave it to my newspaper next day with headline ‘Punjab Businessmen had advance knowledge’. It related to the withdrawal of foreign currency from banks as Pakistan faced another economic sanctions and the government had frozen the foreign currency accounts.

Soon the government overcame the crisis, only to face another one and this time with the then army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf after Kargil. It was the beginning of the end as Sharif sacked Musharraf, within a year after civil and military leadership developed differences, while he was returning from Sri Lanka. The top military brass rejected the move and overthrew his second government on October 12, 1999.

This led to another long tenure of military without imposition of direct martial law. Sharif and his team were arrested and later faced trial before being sent abroad only after they agreed not to take part in politics.

Thus, despite being a strong nuclear power under a highly-disciplined army, Pakistan continued to struggle to become a politically stable country. As a result, the world always considered its civilian leadership weak.

After a decade-long struggle, the civilian rule was once again restored with elections in 2008, but only after the assassination of Benazir, the second most popular leader after ZAB. PPP won the elections for the fourth time, but this time without any Bhutto. This government completed its term and Sharif for was elected PM for the third time after elections in 2013.

As Pakistan celebrated the 18th anniversary of nuclear tests, Sharif is struggling yet again to complete his term for the first time. With two years left for elections and Imran Khan emerging as a new challenger, Pakistan’s nuclear programme is in the safe hand of the State.

However, people generally agree that we can only become a strong nation and a powerful State, if we have political and economic instability. China Pakistan Economic Corridor can only become a game changer, if we overcome internal problems and try to make more friends than enemies. Can we do it?

The civil and military leadership must be on the same page like the one we always were on making Pakistan an atomic power, from Bhutto to Sharif, because if our children don't go to schools and died for not having good hospitals and health facilities, if people don't get clean water, it’s a grave concern for the nuclear Pakistan.

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

—Originally published in The News