The Islamic Bomb and Jihad against Non-Muslims

Date Written   : Dec 29, 2001
Date Modified : Dec 29, 2001

The "Dirty bomb" manufacturing plant of Al-Qaida. 
In the first evidence that Osama bin Laden (OBL) had obtained materials for a nuclear arsenal, Uranium has been found in an Al-Qaida base  in the tunnel complex outside Gandhar (Kandahar).  The cache included low-grade Uranium 238 and cyanide. Earlier hundreds of jars, drums and metal cases in an underground labyrinth at the desert compound were found when Arab and pakistani fighters abandoned Gandhar. 

To make a nuclear bomb one requires superior technological facilities to turn Uranium-238 into a fissile device like the Hiroshima bomb. OBL men lacked the specialised equipment for building such a weapon. But a small so-called "dirty bomb" can be made out of this Uranium,  if wrapped around a conventional explosive. This small device is capable of spreading radiation over a large area and can be easily transported to carry out terrorist activities.

Who else can give the nuclear technology to Taliban, other than its Al-Qaida network operating from the  Pakistani soil? 

US President Bush seems to have confirmed this, not in specific words, but by blocking the assets of UTN.  UTN, a non-governmental organization was founded by Pakistani nuclear scientists that provided
information to Osama bin Laden and the Taliban about chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.
Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood, who was formerly the director for nuclear power at the Pakistani Atomic Energy
Commission (PAEC) was the founder of UTN and one of the key directors. Other two were Abdul Majeed, a former high- ranking official at the PAEC and an expert in nuclear fuels; and S.M. Tufail, an industrialist.  The blocking of assets might have been the part of Operation Green Quest (OGQ) launched on Oct 25, 2001.

Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood had discussed the infrastructure required for a nuclear weapons programme and its effects with OBL and Mullah Omar. The US fact sheet released on Dec 20, 2001 says "During 2001, Mahmood met with Mullah Omar and with Usama bin Laden. During a follow-up meeting, an associate of Usama bin Laden indicated he had nuclear material and wanted to know how to use it to make a weapon. Mahmood provided information about the infrastructure needed for a nuclear weapons program and the effects of nuclear weapons."

The Islamic Bomb and Jihad against non-muslims

Mahmood had left the PAEC during the Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan.  Mahmood was in strong opposition during the discussions held on the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). He had advocated equipping Islamic countries with enriched Uranium and plutonium , with a strong feeling  that the Pakistani nuclear bombs also belong to the Islamic world which can be used for Jihad against the non-muslims.

Mahmood was also a director with Pakistan's Khushab Atomic Reactor and was involved in the early days of Pakistan's uranium enrichment program. The Khushab atomic plant now produces enough plutonium for making at least two nuclear bombs a year. For his work at Khushab, Mahmood received one of the prestigious awards in Pakistan, the Sitar-e-Imtiaz.

After the Uranium being found in the hide-outs of Al-Qaida bases in Gandhar, it is now clear that the Nuclear formula might have fallen into the hands of the islamic terrorists. The world needs to realise the dangers of this. The Bush administration had earlier asked Pakistani to take Mahmood and Majeed into preventive custody. These two have been detained and released at least twice.  Maj. Gen. Rashid Qureshi has on records admitted that the authorities were investigating links between the Taliban and UTN. But along with the UTN,  US needs to pressurise the Musharraf government to expose the nexus between the pro-taliban ISI and the Al-Qaida network.

On October 6, Musharraf as president, extended his own term as chief of staff of the Pakistan army, the most powerful post in Pakistan. He moved to consolidate his hold on the administration and the army. The the most notable thing was that he  removed or re-allocated key army personnel known to be sympathetic to the Taliban, Al-Qaida and to Osama bin Laden, who is wanted by the US dead or alive.  more

The sequence of 
a) Nuclear bomb specialists leaving PAEC and joining Al-Qaida network.
b) September 11 attacks on WTC and the Pentagon
c) Re-shuffling of Pakistani Army Personnel and "premature retirement" of ISI Chief on Oct 6
d) Detention of Pakistani Nuclear scientists for interrogation

and recent  

e) evidence of "dirty bomb" (also called "poor man's nuke" ) manufacturing hide-outs in Gandhar,  

prove the nexus between various members of Al-Qaida network viz. ISI, Taliban and the hardliners in Pakistani Military.

US needs to support Musharraf in his so-far unsuccessful attempts of curbing the Jihadis in the ISI and the hardliners in pakistani military.  US should give an offer to Pakistan for securing the nuclear installations of Pakistan under US control to protect them from falling them into wrong hands. US is already establishing air bases in Pakistan, starting with an air base in southwest Pakistan which will serve as a "key U.S. facility" in the region. Jacobabad might have been chosen as it is relatively close to Afghanistan, but also far from Pakistan's nuclear weapons facilities in the far southwest.  

The Musharraf government needs an urgent help!!!   ...   and the world needs to support US for every step it takes in its war on terrorism, the next phase of which needs to be on Pakistani soil.

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