Author(s): Adrian Levy & Catherine Scott-Clark

Politics

On 15 December 1975, A. Q. Khan - a young Pakistani nuclear scientist working in Holland - stole top secret blueprints for a revolutionary new process to arm a nuclear bomb. His original intention was to provide for Pakistan a counter to India's ongoing pursuit of an atomic bomb. But over time that ambition mushroomed into a vast nuclear black market sanctioned by Pakistan's military elite - financed by aid money from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Libya, as well as boundless assistance from China. They secretly sold weapons to Iran, North Korea, and many others - with the clear knowledge of the American government, for whom Pakistan was a crucial buffer against the Soviets and now an ally in the 'war on terror'.