'Islamic bomb': Ex-CIA officer Barlow reveals what drove Pakistan to build nukes; makes big claim about Indira Gandhi govt

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s initial motive for developing nuclear weapons — to counter India — gradually evolved into an effort to create an “Islamic bomb” aimed at aiding other Muslim nations, including Iran, according to former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer Richard Barlow.

Barlow, who served as a counter-proliferation officer during the 1980s when Islamabad was covertly advancing its nuclear programme, attributed this shift in intent to Abdul Qadeer Khan, widely regarded as the father of Pakistan’s atomic weapons project.

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“Pakistan’s primary motive for developing nuclear weapons was to counter India. But it was also very clear from A.Q. Khan and the generals’ perspective that it was not just the Pakistani bomb; it was the Islamic bomb — the Muslim bomb,” Barlow told news agency ANI.

“I think AQ Khan was even quoted once as saying, ‘We’ve got the Christian bomb, the Jewish bomb, and the Hindu bomb; we need a Muslim bomb.’ It was very clear to me that Pakistan intended to provide nuclear weapons technology to other Muslim countries — which is what happened,” he added.

However, the phrase “Muslim bomb” did not originate with Khan but with then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who initiated Pakistan’s nuclear programme and placed Khan at its helm.

Meanwhile, Barlow also alleged that Washington’s response to Islamabad’s secret nuclear dealings was marked by “negligence.”

“Not only did they (the United States) shut down from doing anything about that in 1987 and 1988, but they did nothing for the next 20 to 24 years,” he remarked.

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Today, only nine countries possess nuclear weapons: Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea — in that order.

While India adheres to a No First Use (NFU) policy, pledging not to use nuclear weapons unless attacked first, Pakistan imposes no such restriction on itself.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that the conflict between India and Pakistan in May, was on the verge of turning nuclear, but that his “intervention” prevented an escalation and led to a ceasefire.

'A shame': Barlow on Indira Gandhi not approving joint India-Israel strike on Pakistan's nuclear facility

Barlow also claimed that a proposal by Israel to jointly bomb with India, Pakistan's Kahuta nuclear facility in the early 1980s could have "solved a lot of problems."

The disapproval by the Indira Gandhi government was a "shame," he said.

"I was out of government from 1982 until 1985. And I think that may have occurred while I was out of government. I heard about it at some point. But I didn't get my teeth into it because it never happened. It's a shame that Indira Gandhi didn't approve it; it would have solved a lot of problems," he stated.

According to reports and declassified accounts, Israel and India had planned a pre-emptive airstrike on Pakistan's Kahuta uranium enrichment plant -- the core of its nuclear programme -- to prevent Islamabad from developing and proliferating nuclear weapons, particularly to Iran, which is regarded as a grave adversary by Israel.

Barlow suggested that the US administration at the time, under then-President Ronald Reagan, would have strongly opposed any such strike, particularly from Israel, as it could have disrupted America's covert war effort against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.