Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak

Rogue in the Ranks
technical information helped these countries to put their nuclear
weapon programmes on a fast track.
The problem became more complicated with reports that Dr Khan
had smuggled out some sensitive information about his activities.
He sent his daughter to London, allegedly with material showing
that senior military officials approved of his activities. Pakistani
commandos were flown overnight to get the material, which was
locked in Khan’s apartment in Dubai. 42 Meanwhile, Dr Khan, who
was placed under house arrest, finally gave in when he was shown
evidence of his activities and bank accounts in Dubai holding several
million dollars that a surrogate allegedly opened for him under a false
name. The investigators also produced statements from Dr Khan’s
aides implicating him in the proliferation. On 2 February 2004, Dr
Khan signed a confession detailing his illicit network. 43 He then asked
to meet with President Musharraf to request clemency. The next day
the President and the scientist met for 45 minutes. The meeting started
with a tense atmosphere, but a deal was eventually made. There
would be no more talk of Pakistani miltiary cooperation with the
proliferation network. Musharraf assured Dr Khan that he would be
pardoned if he apologized to the nation. 44 The deal made, the scientist
was handed a two-page typewritten statement and told to read it on
national television. 45
It was a far cry from his glory days when a distraught Dr Khan,
with greying, wavy hair and salt-and-pepper moustache, appeared
on state television on 4 February 2004, reading from a well-scripted
text, accepting sole responsibility for illicit nuclear trafficking. ‘I take
full responsibility for my actions and seek your pardon,’ he appealed
almost in a choking voice. The three-minute dramatic confession
turned the national hero into a figure of shame. 46 The idol had fallen
from grace for betraying the national trust. The drop scene came in a
nationally televised address the next day, when Musharraf announced
a state pardon for Dr Khan, citing his services to Pakistan. ‘He is my
hero and the nation’s hero and would remain so as he made Pakistan
a nuclear power,’ declared the General.
The matter did not rest there; many unanswered questions remained.
Could Dr Khan and his cohorts have moved large pieces of equipment
without the knowledge of the military, the custodian of Pakistan’s
nuclear programme? Given the massive security in place for nuclear
installations and the personal security of the scientists, could any of
them have engaged in clandestine activities without being noticed?
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