Zia and our nuclear programme

Part - I

Random thoughts

I first met Gen Ziaul Haq, COAS, in July 1976. Due to no progress having been made during the first six months of my stay in Pakistan, I wrote to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto saying I was no longer willing to waste my time and career working with incompetent people and I wanted to return to Europe.

Bhutto replied, asking me to wait for a few days. After two days I was invited to the Foreign Office where I met Agha Shahi (then secretary general of foreign affairs), A G N Kazi (secretary general of finance), Ghulam Ishaq Khan (secretary general of defence) and Gen Imtiaz Ali (military secretary to Bhutto) – all close confidants of Bhutto.

They asked me to explain my case. After hearing me out they offered that I become chairman of the PAEC. I declined, saying that this would be disastrous for our programme as the Americans and Europeans would find out about my expertise in centrifuge technology and would immediately put a tight control on all relevant exports.

I then suggested that, since the programme was very sensitive, difficult and complicated, it should be made into an autonomous project under my leadership. They scheduled a meeting at the same time (5pm) the next day. At that meeting I was told that they had agreed to my proposal and that I would be head of the organisation (named Engineering Research Laboratories at my suggestion).

However, I told them I would need a free hand, to which they replied that Bhutto would have to decide that. Then Gen Imtiaz, using Agha Shahi’s green phone, talked to Bhutto and informed him of the arrangement. Bhutto then asked to speak to me. I told him I agreed to the arrangement but that I would need a free hand. He said that he would call a meeting in a day or two to finalise matters.

After two days he called a meeting at which all the above senior civil servants were present together with Munir Ahmad Khan (chairman, PAEC) and Gen Zia (COAS). Bhutto told those present about the new setup and told Agha Shahi, A G N Kazi and G I Khan that he was delegating his powers to them and that he didn’t want to hear any complaints from me. He formed a coordination board with the three secretaries-general, Munir Ahmad Khan and myself and Imtiaz Ahmad Bhatty, the member finance, as secretary of the board.

I asked Bhutto for one more favour – to advise Gen Ziaul Haq to give me a team of competent army engineers. Gen Zia promised to send me one of his best officers and the next morning, in walked a tall, fair, handsome, smart officer, Brig Zahid Ali Akbar Khan. He was a gem of an officer, always on his toes.

We soon became good friends, and still are. He was rather reluctant, though, to be out of the main service. When I told him that we were embarking on a nuclear weapons programme, he became very enthusiastic. He soon formed a team of competent engineers – Col Mahmood, Col Sajawal Khan, Col Javed, Col Aslam, Maj Saeed Beg, etc and we all got down to work.

First the Kahuta site was acquired and then I started submitting sketches of the buildings that would be needed. Estimates were prepared by an architect in Lahore. My member of finance would release the necessary funds and work progressed fast.

The French first secretary (an agent of the CIA chief in Tehran) wrote to his boss that something very big was being constructed at Kahuta and the speed at which the work was progressing was quite uncharacteristic for Pakistan.

Brig Zahid would come to my Pindi Office driving his jeep and we would go – camouflaged– to Kahuta at least every second day.

On July 5, 1977, Gen Zia staged the coup and within a few days Brig Zahid, to our great disappointment, was posted to Larkana. He later rose to Maj Gen GOC Gujranwala, Lt-Gen Corps Commander Rawalpindi and Chairman Wapda.

In his place, Gen Zia gave us Brig Anis Ali Syed (later Maj Gen and surveyor-general of Pakistan), who was also very competent. He had a great sense of humour and a large stock of jokes. After the coup, Gen Zia appointed Lt-Gen Ali Zamin Naqvi, his old colleague from Indian Army days, as his adviser on security, to liaison with Munir and me.

Gen Naqvi was very fair with blond hair and looked almost European. He was from Lucknow and had a Masters degree in English from Allahabad University. He was soft spoken and very sincere and was a great help to us.

Within a few days of his appointment he had recognised the tensions between PAEC and ERL. He kept Gen. Zia informed. He appointed Col Qamar Faruqi, Director Security PAEC, as his staff officer and thus knew exactly what was going on in PAEC.

After the coup, Gen Zia appointed Ghulam Ishaq Khan as secretary general-in-chief (the de facto prime minister) and head of the coordination board. As finance minister, he looked after our needs well. We held monthly meetings at Kahuta to view progress and one could see he was satisfied when work went well.

Gen Zia also started seeing Gen Naqvi and myself every fortnight. He would listen without interrupting when I gave a briefing. One day he called us after Juma prayers. After the normal briefing, he suddenly said: “Let us go to Kahuta”.

We were a bit surprised, but work went on there 24/7. Gen Zia was in shalwar qameez and Punjabi chappals. I had a red Jeep Cherokee at the time. Gen Naqvi and Gen Zia sat in the back seat while I sat in front with driver Ayub.

Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com