Author: Stephen Farrell,
and Zahid Hussain
Publication: The Times,
UK
Date: September 16,
2000
The "father" of Pakistan's
nuclear weapon programme says his country has enough nuclear weapons to
destroy India's main cities, with capacity to spare.
Abdul Qadeer Khan, the
hawkish head of Pakistan's Kahuta nuclear project, said at an awards ceremony
in Islamabad: "India should not underestimate Pakistan. We have enough
bombs and missiles to wipe out India's main cities many times over.
We can wipe Delhi from the map within five minutes."
The claim is being treated
with caution even within Pakistan, where Mr Khan, now in his 70s, is accorded
varying degrees of credibility. Critics have accused him of bombast
and self-promotion.
His warning is widely
seen as sabre-rattling during the visit of Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Indian
Prime Minister, to the United States. A recent US report claimed
that Pakistan's missile capability was more advanced than India's after
Pakistan received help from China and North Korea. Its Gauri missile
has a range of more than 620 miles.
Dr George Perkovich,
author of India's Nuclear Bomb, said last night that Mr Khan was still
closely involved with Pakistan's nuclear programme but his claims had to
be regarded with scepticism.
"He has a history of
grandiose statements. Pakistan has a capability to destroy some Indian
cities, but if the idea is that they could destroy all major Indian cities
several times over, I don't know anyone who believes that," he said.
Dr Brahma Chellaney,
a former professor at the Centre for Policy Research in Delhi, also counselled
caution, but said it was difficult to judge Pakistan's capability because
few knew how much had been supplied by China.
This year Abdul Sattar,
Pakistan's Foreign Minister, denied that his country was ahead of India,
describing its nuclear programme as "extremely limited in scope".
