Dr. A. Q. Khan the so called ‘father’ of the Pakistan’s nuclear bomb is playing a dangerous game. By reopening the dead issue of transfer of nuclear technology to North Korea he had done no service to the country, nor to his own self since he is now in the centre of a controversy which accused him of being a time server. What was the need for him to prove his innocence by shifting the blame to the army and President Musharraf except what his critics allege trying to win cheap publicity, but in the process he had done considerable damage to country’s reputation. A. Q. Khan wants freedom to move around, but ironically the court inquired how come he has been talking to the press and issuing statements on a sensitive issue like the charge that Pakistan was guilty of transferring nuclear technology to other countries. We as a nation are in the habit of building heroes out of proportion to their real self, who are likely to get wrong ideas about their role in history. A. Q. Khan is also a case of misconceived high self-concept, propped up by a lobby which projects him as a national hero who has not been given his reward. Ironically a section of such people has been lobbying for him to make the country’s President. What was A Q Khan’s role in producing the so called ‘Islamic bomb’. No body denies him the credit for running the country’s nuclear programme which eventually enabled Pakistan acquire a nuclear capability, even though more credit is due to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who initiated the country’s nuclear programme; raised funds for the project and installed A Q Khan in the job to run it.
The man who has been assigned the task of overseeing the country’s nuclear assets, Lt Gen  Khalid Kidwai (Retd.) was annoyed with A. Q. Khan’s ‘revelation’ to the foreign press. A. Q. Khan had said, that he did not make a voluntary confession. A pre-written statement was handed over to him which he read out before the press. In a rejoinder Kidwai claimed there was enough evidence on record against A. Q. Khan to prove his guilt in transfer of technology to North Korea and if need arise it could be shown to ‘neutral people’. A. Q. Khan has begged the president for a pardon, Kidwai alleged, if he was spared a trial. Kidwai appears to blame A. Q. Khan for trying to ride the anti-Musharraf bandwagon when the President was underfire from other quarters believing that whatever he said under the circumstances would be accepted by the general public and the new government weakened by the lawyers agitation would fail to take an appropriate stand. Ironically A. Q. Khan has lampooned the charge against him saying that he could not have carried the sensitive material to North Korea in his pocket. Such a transaction could not have been possible with the convenience of the armed forces and the intelligence agencies, he said.
There was some merit in the alibi that A. Q. Khan could not have done the job all alone, and there were other agencies and big guns also involved even though A. Q. Khan was charged with setting up a private network of people to undertake the project. What appeals to common sense is the fact that A. Q. Khan was in all probability picked as a ‘scapegoat’ to save key institutions of the state apparatus from being focus of world attention. Fortunately for Pakistan the North Korean nuclear programme has since been ‘frozen’ after prolonged negotiations with the Americans, it would otherwise have meant a lot of trouble for Pakistan as a conduit of nuclear technology in the international arena. A. Q. Khan deserves sympathy for being charged with an offence for which many more people were responsible who got scot free, but he must show strength of character and some magnanimity when it comes to choosing between national interest and self interest.
Dr. A. Q. Khan has played his inning and earned lot of kudos for his contribution in making Pakistan a nuclear capable state. But it is time for him to retire gracefully and not get involved in controversies which smack of urge to draw public attention and seek personal publicity. Of course there have been people in the country who have been telling him that he was indispensable for the advancement of Pakistan’s nuclear programme. Nevertheless since his exit from the nuclear scene he has been succeeded in his outfit by other competent people who have given a good account of themselves in performing the mission assigned to them. The best advice one could give Dr. A. Q. Khan is; keep your loud mouth shut and outgrow your inflated ego to stop seeking personal glory at the expense of national reputation.