ISLAMABAD: Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan's renowned nuclear scientist, passed away today on Sunday morning in Islamabad, leaving voids that will remain forever in the nation's hearts.
Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan will be buried and laid to rest with honour today at Faisal Mosque, Islamabad, at 3:30 pm. According to Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan, he wished to be buried in Faisal Mosque after death.
According to the sources, Dr Khan, aged 85, was brought to the KRL Hospital on Sunday morning after his health started deteriorating Saturday night. He was going through severe lung degeneration and breathing problems before resting in peace at the hospital.
Earlier, Dr Khan had been admitted to Khan Research Laboratories Hospital on August 26 after he tested positive for Covid-19. Later, he was shifted to Rawalpindi's military hospital but was discharged after recovering from the virus.
Dr AQ Khan has made Pakistan a nuclear state. That is why he was greatly loved, respected, and had a particular space in the people's hearts.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was quite sad after Dr Qadeer's demise. He praised him in his tweet that our nation loved him because of his critical contribution in making us a nuclear weapon state. It has provided us security against an aggressive, much larger nuclear neighbour. He was a national icon for the people of Pakistan, Imran Khan said.
President Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, was also deeply saddened to learn about the passing of his country's nuclear father. He wrote in his tweet that Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan helped us develop nation-saving nuclear deterrence, and a grateful nation would never forget his services in this regard.
Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan became a national hero overnight, not only in Pakistan but in the Islamic world, when in May 1998, Pakistan responded to India by conducting its nuclear tests.
Following the tests, Pakistan became the sole nuclear power in the Muslim world and the seventh country to possess nuclear weapons. Pakistan's nuclear weapons have kept Indian aggression in check.
