Abdul Qadeer Khan

Abdul Qadeer Khan (1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021) was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and metallurgical engineer, known as the 'father of Pakistan's atomic weapons program'. He migrated to Pakistan in 1952 and was educated in metallurgical engineering at Western European technical universities. Khan pioneered studies in phase transitions of metallic alloys, uranium metallurgy, and isotope separation using gas centrifuges. In 1976, he founded the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and served as its chief scientist and director. However, in January 2004, Khan admitted his role in nuclear proliferation, following a debriefing by the Musharraf administration prompted by evidence provided by the Bush administration of the United States.