Overview
- Richard Barlow tells ANI that Pakistan’s deterrent against India evolved under A.Q. Khan into an 'Islamic bomb' effort intended to share nuclear technology with other Muslim states, including Iran.
- He alleges Khan’s network supplied Iran with gas centrifuge technology in the early 1990s, advancing Tehran’s programme by decades.
- Barlow says U.S. presidents kept certifying Pakistan as non‑nuclear through 1989 despite intelligence that F‑16s were configured to deliver Pakistani nuclear weapons.
- He recounts that a proposed India–Israel pre‑emptive strike on the Kahuta enrichment site was discussed but not approved by Indira Gandhi, adding that Ronald Reagan would have opposed such action because of the covert war in Afghanistan.
- He claims a 1987 U.S. sting targeting Pakistani procurement was compromised by a tipoff from some State Department officials, and his remarks are now being cited by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey to attack Congress leadership.