Desk Report
Published: 10 Oct 2021, 02:18 pm
Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistani top nuclear scientist || Photo: Collected
Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani nuclear scientist who
acknowledged being part of a nuclear proliferation ring, died on Sunday. He was
85.
Khan was admitted to Khan Research Laboratories Hospital on
Aug 26 after testing positive for COVID-19 and was later moved to a military
hospital in Rawalpindi, said the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
"He was loved by our nation because of his critical
contribution in making us a nuclear weapon state," Pakistan's Prime
Minister Imran Khan on Twitter. "For the people of Pakistan, he was a
national icon."
He was at the center of a global nuclear proliferation
scandal in 2004 that involved sales of nuclear secrets to North Korea, Iran, and
Libya. After a confession on national television, Khan was pardoned by
then-president Pervez Musharraf but he remained under house arrest for years in
his palatial Islamabad home.
In his confession, Khan said he acted alone without the
knowledge of the state officials. However, he later said he had been
scapegoated.
"He helped us develop nation-saving nuclear deterrence,
and a grateful nation will never forget his services in this regard,"
Pakistani President Arif Alvi said in a tweet.
Prime Minister Khan, who is not related to AQ Khan, said the scientist would be buried at Islamabad's Faisal mosque, according to his wishes.