Word: khans
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Emerging from his Islamabad mansion on Feb. 6, A. Q. Khan looked victorious; after five years of de facto house arrest, the Pakistani government declared that the nuclear scientist was being set free. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, Khan's life's work - which included a clandestine network that sold nuclear secrets to nations such as North Korea, Iran and Libya - is still holding the rest of the world hostage. And while Khan is viewed by many in Pakistan as a national hero for developing the country's nuclear weapons program, his rogue dealings have simultaneously helped advance...
...After India detonated underground nuclear bombs in 1974, Khan sent word to Pakistan's leader, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, offering to help Pakistan build its own nuclear program. While working at a Dutch company where he had high security clearance, Khan had copied and photographed nuclear designs, which he brought back to Pakistan...
...When Pakistan detonated a series of underground nuclear bombs in 1998, Khan was hailed as a hero - India already had nuclear weapons and Pakistan's acquisition was seen as leveling a contentious playing field. Khan's portrait was painted on buses and he was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz medal, which honors Pakistanis of outstanding achievement...
...unclear how the U.S. government will react to Khan's release. Cirincione, who runs the Ploughshares Fund, a grantmaking foundation focused on issues of security and peace, points out that Khan's release comes just days after the U.S. imposed sanctions against Khan, 12 of his associates and three firms tied to his network. "Was this a reaction to our move? If so, it is a direct challenge to our efforts to stop the network," he says...
Albright points out that Washington "has used up whatever leverage it had with Pakistan in this matter." He says U.S. efforts to prevent further leaks of nuclear technology from Islamabad have concentrated on intelligence gathering, rather than ensuring that previous offenders, like Khan, were adequately punished...