Pakistan's nuclear weapons program is a source of extreme national pride, and, as its father, AQ Khan -- who headed Pakistan's nuclear program for some 25 years -- is considered a national hero. Though his full name is Abdul Qadeer Khan, he is commonly referred to as AQ Khan. Born in Bhopal, Dr. AQ Khan is a German-educated metallurgist who, from May 1972 to December1975 was employed by Physics Dynamic Research Laboratory (also known as FDO), an engineering firm based in Amsterdam and a subcontractor to the URENCO consortium specializing in the manufacture of nuclear equipment. A Dutch-German and British consortium, Urenco primary enrichment facility was at Almelo, Netherlands. AQ Khan, in his capacity would eventualy have an office at that facility by late 1974. In 1975, following India's 1974 nuclear test and while on holiday in Pakistan, Dr. was reported to have been asked by the then-prime minister to take charge of Pakistans uranium-enrichment program. In early 1976, Dr. Khan left the Netherlands with secret URENCO blueprints for uranium centrifuge (one of Dutch origins featuring an aluminum rotor, and another of German make, composed of maraging steel, a superhard alloy). Convicted in 1983 in abstentia by a court in the Netherlands for stealing the designs, his conviction would be later overturned on a technicality.
Tags: Dr, Doctor, Abdul, Qadir, Khan, Pakistan, Nuclear, Program, Zaid, Hamid, Uranium, enrichment, plant, Bhutto, President, Zardari, Science, Scientist, Nadeem, Malik, Nadim, India
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