Abdul Qadeer Khan, Head of Pakistan's Nuclear Program, Has Died

Pakistani nuclear physicist and head of Pakistan's nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, has died due to complications from COVID-19. This was announced by the country's Prime Minister Imran Khan on his Twitter page.

Abdul Qadeer Khan passed away in a hospital at the age of 86, where he had been admitted due to deteriorating health conditions.

Pakistan's secret nuclear program began in 1972, when then-Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto tasked the country's physicists and engineers with creating an 'Islamic nuclear bomb.' In July 1976, work began under the leadership of Abdul Qadeer Khan at the technical research laboratories in Kahuta.

In May 1998, nuclear explosive devices were tested at the Chagai military exercise area. Currently, the Pakistan Army possesses up to 50 nuclear warheads.