Father of Pakistan's nuclear programme AQ Khan dies at 85

ISLAMABAD: Abdul Qadeer Khan, revered as the "father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb", has died at 85, authorities said Sunday, having been hospitalised with Covid-19. The atomic scientist was hailed as a national hero for transforming his country into the world's first Islamic nuclear power, but regarded by the West as a dangerous renegade responsible for smuggling technology to rogue states.
He died after being transferred to the KRL Hospital in Islamabad with lung problems.
Khan had been admitted to the same hospital in August with Covid-19, it said. After being permitted to return home several weeks ago, he was transferred back after his condition deteriorated.Khan was placed under effective house arrest in Islamabad in 2004 after he admitted running a proliferation network to the three countries.
In 2006 Khan was struck with prostate cancer, but recovered after surgery.
A court ended his house arrest in February 2009, but Khan's movements were strictly guarded, and he was accompanied by authorities every time he left his home in an upscale sector of leafy Islamabad.