|
Islamabad: Nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has said his confession on state-run television in 2004 about passing on nuclear secrets to other states was made to save the country the embarrassment and hinted he would disclose the reasons behind it at an appropriate time.
In a telephone interview with a private television channel on Wednesday night on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the 1998 nuclear tests, he said the nuclear capability had given the country the confidence to hold its own in the face of perceived threats.
While expressing his gratitude for the nation's love and affection, he credited the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for inspiring the country's nuclear programme.
In the same breath, he rebuked Pervez Musharraf, saying the country had "gone to the dogs" in a period of just about 10 years. He also complained that his house arrest purportedly for passing on nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea had caused him a host of medical problems.
Khan remains a national hero despite admitting four years ago to heading a clandestine proliferation network. Starting in the 1970s, he led the uranium enrichment programme that made the country the Islamic world's first nuclear power.
Speaking on the phone from his Islamabad residence, he said the test had proved skeptics in the West wrong that "we were not capable of doing anything". However, hopes of economic development had been sadly belied, he said. "This has not happened. In the last 10 years, the country has gone to the dogs... People are hungry. You see the (rising) prices and all (essential commodities)."
|
