Pakistan’s nuclear ambition began as a response to India’s 1974 nuclear test. But it soon grew into a wider mission, says former CIA officer Richard Barlow.
He revealed that under Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan aimed to create an “Islamic bomb.” The goal was to share nuclear technology with other Muslim countries. Barlow said Khan’s team gave Iran key centrifuge designs and weapon plans in the early 1990s. That help, he noted, pushed Iran’s nuclear progress forward by decades.
“It wasn’t just Pakistan’s bomb; it was the Muslim bomb,” Barlow told ANI. He said Khan and Pakistan’s generals believed the Muslim world needed its own deterrent.
The idea first came from Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He launched the project with Khan leading it. Born in Bhopal in 1936, Khan later became infamous for selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. He died in 2021.
Barlow also blamed Washington for ignoring Pakistan’s illegal actions. “The U.S. knew about it but stayed silent for years,” he said. He added that Pakistan’s early help gave Iran the foundation for its nuclear programme.
