Though Pakistan denies it, experts are agreed that China, and to a lesser extent Germany, can claim paternity of the Pakistani bomb.Materials smuggled in from Germany helped Pakistan set up its ultracentrifuge (whose design was "stolen" from the Dutch by Abdul Qadeer Khan in the '70s) at Kahuta.Abdul Qadeer Khan: by hook or by crook?As late as May 25, German weeklyDer Spiegelreported that Bonn had identified 29 Pakistani companies seeking sensitive nuclear technology China contributed by providing the Pakistanis a tried and tested design of a weapon in the early '80s.More recently, it helped in the construction of a 70 MW research reactor that will provide Islamabad the more useful weapons-grade plutonium required to make compact weapons.China has also provided Pakistan missiles to deliver the bomb. Pakistan cannot do without external help, and for the present China seems a more than willing ally.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Jun 8, 1998--- ENDS ---
