Unsung heroes

Part - XXVIII
Random thoughts
In my last column I mentioned some local and foreign businessmen who were extremely helpful to us in achieving our goal. Some foreigners were more helpful to us than some of our own.
Mr Salahuddin was a friend of my very competent and dear friend, Dr Hashmi. He had been Dr Hashmi’s class fellow in Karachi. During one of our trips abroad we met and asked him if he could recommend someone for the procurement of electronic components. He introduced us to one Abdus Salam, a mechanical engineer of Tamil origin. His wife, Nasim, had an MSc degree in chemistry and worked at a university. She was an excellent cook and we enjoyed many sumptuous dinners/lunches at their home.
Salam lived near Salahuddin’s house in Colindale and they both used to work in a Muslim welfare society. Salam turned out to be extremely useful to us. He set up a small office where he received our queries and from where he would order and ship components very quickly. He also helped in the shipment of workshop machines. Through him we were able to have many components for our machines manufactured as we had no facilities at the time in Pakistan and we were racing against time.
We literally followed the policy advocated by Gen Zia, viz beg, borrow or steal, to achieve our goal, and achieve it we did, contrary to the expectations of many. He also arranged the supply of excellent Hardinge machines, electron beam welding machines, induction heating machines, metals and alloys. Once there was a problem with one of the shipments and the customs officers went to his office to discuss it. They asked to see the files of the shipments made to us and took away all the files, which included component drawings of our old P-1 machines.
The British, seemingly more loyal than the king, passed on these drawings to the Americans who, decades later, showed them to Musharraf. According to his own statement in his biography, Musharraf “immediately recognized them as P-1 drawings even though they did not have KRL or my name on them.” Now how was it possible for a layperson who had not been allowed to set foot in KRL before October 12, 1999, to recognise a drawing of an ultracentrifuge, the use of which had been discarded more than 20 years before? What a genius!
When we established the laboratories at Kahuta, we started from scratch. We had to race against time to make the seemingly impossible, possible. There were intrigues against me from within and they tried to get Gen Zia to show me the door. However, Gen Zia was very intelligent and shrewd and saw through their game. He wanted to send the ringleaders of the plot to jail but at my request didn’t do so. My colleagues and I gave our blood and sweat to the project, often at the cost of our families.
When we started facing difficulties in direct imports, we asked Salam to find some friends in a Gulf emirate. He knew a Tamil family who ran a small business. We went and met Farook and his 22-year-old nephew, Tahir. Tahir was a commerce graduate and smart and intelligent. This arrangement worked very well and we now received all our imports that way. The suppliers knew the goods they were shipping were meant for us, but they did the business gladly. Thanks to Musharraf, all those foreigners who were of invaluable help to us were harassed, some even jailed, by their governments.
Tahir’s younger brother, Saeed, was held in the Gulf for a long time, even though he had nothing whatsoever to do with the business. Tahir went to the Far East, where he was held by some loyal western agents. Later he conveyed to us that he was harassed and made to sign a so-called statement under coercion. Tahir’s computer company, run by Saeed, with millions worth of hardware and substantial bank balances, was confiscated. These people all genuinely helped us and were punished for it by our treachery. Tahir now runs a small store in Kuala Lumpur. Nothing is known about Saeed’s whereabouts. Farook died of stomach cancer more than a decade ago.
Salam’s house in London was near that of Brig Iftikhar and the two got to know each other through us. When Salam moved to Dubai we often went there on business. Gen Imtiaz (then a defence adviser) met Salam through Iftikhar Bhai, who knew Salam, Farook and Tahir. Through Gen Imtiaz, Dr Niazi also got to know Farook and Tahir. Dr Niazi was personal dentist to Bhutto and for that he suffered much at the hands of Gen Zia and his staff. Zardari and Benazir Sahiba used to stay at the Niazi home. Tarique Islam, cousin of Benazir, was married to Dr Niazi’s daughter. In the next column I will mention more friends and benefactors of our nuclear programme.
To be continued
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com