Father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb AQ Khan passes away

Islamabad: Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced atomic scientist known as the 'father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb' under the clandestine enrichment programme and infamous for his controversial role in nuclear proliferation, died here on Sunday after a brief illness. He was 85.

Khan, who was born in 1936 in Bhopal and migrated to Pakistan along with his family after the Partition in 1947, breathed his last at about 7.00 AM (local time) at the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) Hospital the medical facility named after him.

According to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan, Khan had been admitted to the KRL Hospital on August 26 after he tested positive for Covid-19. Later, he was shifted to a military hospital in Rawalpindi but was discharged after recovering from the virus.

Khan was brought to the KRL Hospital early in the morning after he faced difficulty in breathing, Geo News reported.

Doctors said Khan's health deteriorated after bleeding in his lungs. He could not survive after his lungs collapsed.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said that all efforts were made to save his life. "The prime minister has directed to bury Dr Qadeer with full (state) honours," Rashid said.