Recent investigations have revealed that the nuclear proliferation network once managed by Pakistan's top nuclear scientist AQ Khan is still operational.
"Nothing has changed,” Time quoted one of Khan’s former aides as saying. "The hardware is still available, and the network hasn’t stopped".
The report that has extensively been quoted by the Daily Times says that the Khan network played a much larger role in helping both Iran and North Korea to become nuclear proficient than previously disclosed.
Quoting American intelligence officials, Time claims that Khan sold North Korea much of the necessary material to build a nuclear bomb, including high-speed centrifuges used to enrich uranium and the equipment required to manufacture more of them.
They, along with officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also believe that Iran may have bought the same set of goods -- centrifuges and possibly weapons designs -- from Khan in the mid-1990s.
Although the IAEA says it has so far not found any definitive proof of an Iranian weapons programme, its investigators have revealed that Tehran privately confirmed at least 13 meetings (from 1994 to 1999) with representatives of the Khan network.
{{/usCountry}}Although the IAEA says it has so far not found any definitive proof of an Iranian weapons programme, its investigators have revealed that Tehran privately confirmed at least 13 meetings (from 1994 to 1999) with representatives of the Khan network.
{{/usCountry}}Many fear that these disclosures represent the tip of the iceberg, given that the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb travelled the world for more than a decade, visiting countries in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.
US officials are currently investigating the possibility that Khan’s network sold nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, the magazine quotes a Pakistani defence official as saying.
He also confirmed that the US has submitted questions to Khan on whether North Korea and Iran sold such equipment to third parties.
The report said that although Washington has no concrete evidence that any of Khan’s clients have passed along nuclear technology and expertise to terrorist groups, they cannot rule out the possibility that Khan did business with Osama Bin Laden’s Qaeda network.
The report goes on to say that if Washington discovers that Khan sold nuclear warhead blueprints to Iran, as he did with Libya, it could find immediate justification to substantiate its charges that Tehran’s nuclear research has a military purpose.