Malik Muhammad Aslam Awan
The father of Islamic Bomb Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was born on April, 1936 in Bhopal, India. As a Muslim he migrated to Pakistan in 1952. He earned his Doctorate from the Catholic University of Louven in Belgium. In December 1974 Dr. A.Q Khan came back to Pakistan and persuaded Z.A. Bhutto, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan to initiate nuclear programme. Due to Indian Nuclear Tests on 18 May 1974 Bhutto was passionately inclined to make Pakistan Atomic Power. He rightly felt that without being Nuclear Power Pakistan will lag behind India in Nuclear warhead capacity and will have to face a subservient position before the eternal rival country. He agreed with A.Q. Khan and entrusted him the most sensitive responsibility to endeavor hard to make Pakistan Atomic Power.Dr. A.Q. Khan and Z.A. Bhutto’s meeting proved a milestone in the way to make Pakistan Atomic Power with meagre resources, the young energetic scientist embarked upon the cumbersome task of making Pakistan enter the list of world Atomic Powers. On May 13, 1998 two fission devices were detonated and Indian Prime Minister Atall Bahari Vajpayee shortly convened a press conference to declare India as a full fledged Nuclear state.Responding to Indian adventure, on May 28 1998, Pakistan announced that it had successfully conducted nuclear tests and attained the status of Nuclear Power – Islamic bomb. Indian Atomic tests adventure was named as operation “Smiling Bhuddah” and with the Nuclear tests in Pakistan the smiling Bhuddah came down to the status of weeping Bhuddah. Dr. A.Q. Khan discarded charming remuneration abroad and accepted the challenging responsibility entrusted to him by Z.A. Bhutto. He embarked upon the task with meager resources. Luckily the later rulers of Pakistan General Zia-ul-Haq, Benazir Bhutto, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Ghulam Ishaq Khan were keenly interested in the nuclear Programme, as they were desirous to see Pakistan at the equal Pedestal of Power vis-à-vis its natural enemy. Dr. A.Q. Khan, with his team succeeded in his cumbersome mission and on 28th May 1998 tested the nuclear capacity at “chagi”. After five test explosions the world came to know that Pakistan had the capacity of nuclear warhead and is capable enough to retaliate Indian incursive designs. Right after 15 days Pakistan chased the Indian nuclear tests to realize Indian Pandits that Pakistan is not any way lagging behind India in nuclear capacity. Indian dreams fell to the ground when Pakistan retaliated Just within 15 days. Pakistan’s nuclear tests echoed not only in India but this Phenomena opened the eyes of world nuclear powers that Pakistani Scientists have no lesser capacity than their scientists.Now we can see eye to eye to India and has the Weightage of Power – Balance in the region. Every Muslim of the world gets saddened when he riminds the old life of world Muslim Hero. Musharaf regime, in compliance with world power browheat, restrained A.Q. Khan to his home and a host of difficulties were let loose to his peripheral, only to break his courage and old bones, to let him die in bitterest odds of life. He never lost heart even against the bitterest odds and waged a legal war but unfortunately the world hero could not win till the last moment of his life and led his last days in the corridors of Justice. The Hero of the nation breathed his last on October 10, 2021 at KRL Hospital Islamabad.
