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British-Asian businessman claims innocence in nuke case

Shyam Bhatia
India Abroad Correspondent in London

A British businessman of Bangladeshi origin accused of exporting nuclear components to Pakistan says he is innocent of the charges levelled against him.

Accountant Abu Siddiqui has denied before a London court that he fraudulently evaded export regulations by sending vital nuclear equipment to Pakistan.

Southwark Crown Court in London has heard how Siddiqui allegedly exported vital components items to uranium enrichment expert Dr Abdul Qadir Khan, the Bhopal-born architect of Pakistan's nuclear programme.

The court has been told that the items included a heat treatment furnace, an overhead gantry crane, a sophisticated measuring device known as a gravity meter and aluminum bars, with both military and civilian applications.

The shipments were originally intended for Bangladesh, but according to crown prosecutor Mukul Chawla they all ended up at the Khan Research Laboratories at Kahuta near Rawalpindi.

According to Chawla all the exported items were covered by European legislation preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

When Siddiqui's offices were searched police found a booklet containing guidelines on items which could be potentially used in nuclear warfare.

The items concerned were sent to Pakistan in 1996 and 1997, just a year or two before Pakistan carried out its nuclear tests in the Chagai hills of Baluchistan.

Chawla told the court how Siddiqui should have been suspicious about the possible use of the components he was purchasing from Britain and North America and exporting to Pakistan via Dubai.

The court case has also revealed the close relationship between Siddiqui and Dr Khan who has been hailed in Pakistan as the father of the country's nuclear weapons programme. Khan, married to a Dutch woman, currently lives in semi-retirement in a palatial bungalow in Islamabad.

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