A Pakistani lawmaker on Friday called for "thorough investigations" into the country's nuclear proliferation to Iran and North Korea during former military ruler Pervez Musharraf's regime. Pakistan Peoples Party senator Farhatullah Babar said that the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan had been singled out for nuclear proliferation and demanded that the "entire network" be exposed.
Babar said 73-year-old Musharraf, in his book 'In the Line of Fire', concedes that several tonnes of nuclear material and drawings had been smuggled from Pakistan to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
Claiming that 81-year-old Khan was singled out for nuclear proliferation, Babar argued that it was impossible for any single individual to smuggle out huge centrifuge machines and other nuclear material without connivance and assistance of other players, according to a report by Dawn News.
He called for an enquiry into the matter and bringing to book all those involved in the scam. He said that the "entire network" should be exposed and insisted that it must include big names, the report said.
The demand came after Hafiz Hamdullah of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl asked during the Senate session why Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, described as the father of the country’s nuclear bomb, was not even mentioned during Yaum-i-Takbeer celebrations on May 28.
Hamdullah said that Khan was a national hero but had been degraded and insulted by Musharraf.
Musharraf ruled Pakistan till 2008 after toppling the government of Nawaz Sharif in 1999 to come to power.
