The clandestine nuclear weapons programmes of Iran, Libya and North Korea were all fuelled by the Khan Research Laboratories in Kahuta in North Pakistan, a London weekly reported on Sunday.‘‘Dramatic evidence from Iran and now Libya reveals a clandestine and sophisticated network, stretching from North Korea, Malaysia and China to Russia, Germany and Dubai. Yet one country more than any other stands accused of easing this proliferation. In the network of illegal radioactive trade, all roads point to Pakistan. More precisely, they lead to the Khan Research Laboratories in Kahuta in North Pakistan,’’ the Observer stated. Abdul Qadeer Khan, revered as father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, is implicated in the proliferation of weapons in Iran, according to the report.During India’s first nuclear test, he was working in Holland for an Anglo-Dutch-German nuclear engineering consortium called Urenco. While working there, Khan became aware of secret blueprints for two types of uranium enrichment centrifuges. The report alleges that Khan stole the blueprints and a list of Urenco suppliers. UN inspectors who recently visited Libya discovered large amounts of aluminium centrifuge parts that had ‘‘all the hallmarks of the Urenco designs’’ stolen by Khan.
