Aasha Khosa/Islamabad

Pakistan’s leaders are showering copious praises on Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of country’s nuclear programme, after his death, while in life, he was a prisoner and shunned by the political and military leaders alike.

As late as a few weeks ago, he told his friends that nobody from the Imran Khan’s government had cared to visit him as he lay in a Karachi hospital battling cancer and Covid-19. Interestingly at the same time there was a beeline of people offering to help the famous Comedian Omer Sharif who was battling a serious health condition at the same time and has since passed away.

The Bhopal-born Qadeer was not a nuclear scientist; he was a metallurgist, who had obtained the nuclear technology for Pakistanfrom sources that remain unclear to the world. Nevertheless he gave Pakistan its nuclear bomb that its leaders keep talking about and flaunting at the drop of the hat.

Also Read: A Q Khan regrets making nukes for ‘rogue’ Pak Army

However, after his death on Sunday early hours at the age of 85, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his condolences to the family of the nuclear scientist, saying on Twitter that he was loved by the nation because of "his critical contribution in making Pakistan a nuclear weapon state".

Also Read: How Pakistan treats and mistreats its celebrities

"For the people of Pakistan he was a national icon," he said.

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari, a fellow Pashtun, tried to raise the issue about Qadeer being made a Pariha.

Saddened to learn of Dr A Q Khan's death. His contribution to dev of our nuc weapons capability was critical with his bringing U enrichment technology. This was crucial esp after French had backed off from reprocessing plant agreement. He was targeted incessantly by West for this

— Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) October 10, 2021

Abdul Qadeer Khan was found to be involved in selling the nuclear know how to other countries, a crime that is viewed very seriously. Though it’s understood that it was the Pakistani Deep State that was involved in the international and illegal sale of the technology and nukes, yet he was made a scapegoat.

In 2004, it seems the then President Pervez Musharraf had debriefed Qadeer before he owned the responsibility of trying to sell the nuclear technology before a commission.

Under pressure from the US, he was placed under house arrest. Later when he realized that he was being dumped off to placate the USA, he approached the Court and sought relief and to clear his name.

Despite the Court relief, he remained under house arrest till his end. The USA had threatened of dire consequences if the person involved in the sale was not punished.

Though he didn’t have much interaction with the world for 17 years, his letter to a fellow scientist Perevez Hoodbuoy were released and these revealed his sadness and a sense of betrayal by his country for which he had staked everything.

Abdul Qadeer was so dejected by the behaviour of the Pakistani State that he had willed that he should not be buried at Shah Faisal Mosque graveyard, reserved for the VVIPs, and be laid to rest in his own locality. The government accorded him a State funeral and dug his grave in the VVIP area only to be told by his family that he has willed not to be buried there.