Abdul Qadeer Khan: ‘Father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb’ dies
… Coming shortly after similar tests by India, Dr Khan’s work helped seal Pakistan’s place as the world’s seventh nuclear power and sparked national jubilation.
But he was arrested in 2004 for illegally sharing nuclear technology with Iran, Libya and North Korea.
The revelations that he had passed on nuclear secrets to other countries shocked Pakistan.
In a televised address, Dr Khan offered his “deepest regrets and unqualified apologies”.
Dr Khan was pardoned by Pakistan’s then-president, Pervez Musharraf, but he was held under house arrest until 2009.
The leniency of his treatment angered many in the West, where he has been dubbed “the greatest nuclear proliferator of all time”.
