The mysterious plan to stop AQ Khan: Why Israel's secret missions failed to stop Pakistan’s nuclear program?

Israel’s long-standing concern over an 'Islamic bomb' began in the 1970s when Pakistan started developing nuclear capabilities under Abdul Qadeer Khan. After India tested its first nuclear weapon in 1974, Pakistan’s then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto pledged to match it: “We will eat grass or leaves, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own,” he said. Israel, alarmed by this ambition, reportedly attempted to assassinate AQ Khan and even proposed a joint airstrike with India on Pakistan’s Kahuta nuclear facility in the early 1980s.

Israel’s early fears and foiled plans

According to historian Adrian Levy and journalist Catherine Scott-Clark, Mossad conducted covert sabotage campaigns targeting European suppliers to Pakistan’s programme, including letter bombs and threats. Former Mossad chief Shabtai Shavit later admitted regret over not eliminating Khan, while ex-CIA Director George Tenet called Khan 'at least as dangerous as Osama bin Laden'. Economic Times reports that between 1979–1983, Israel proposed a covert joint operation to help India bomb Pakistan’s Kahuta nuclear facility, citing fears of an ‘Islamic bomb’ destabilising West Asia.

A plan for Israeli fighter jets to launch from India’s Jamnagar air base and bomb Kahuta was drawn up, with Indira Gandhi initially on board. However, she eventually withdrew support.

Why the campaign failed?

Despite the sabotage attempts and India’s operational readiness, Pakistan’s nuclear quest continued. Khan returned from the Netherlands in 1976, accused of stealing uranium centrifuge blueprints, and led Pakistan’s uranium enrichment programme. In 1986, he declared Pakistan had the capability to build a nuclear bomb. “Are these bastards God-appointed guardians of the world?” Khan said, referring to Western opposition. Mossad’s efforts also extended to threatening suppliers to stop his nuclear-related dealings with Pakistan.

"For Israel, the prospect that Pakistan, for the first time, could become an Islamic State with an atomic bomb posed an existential threat," Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung (NZZ) said.

But geopolitical dynamics played a crucial role: both the US and China covertly supported Pakistan. China provided enriched uranium, tritium and technical assistance, while Washington turned a blind eye to Pakistan’s activities during the 1980s Cold War alliance against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Ultimately, despite multiple Israeli efforts and Indian readiness, Pakistan succeeded in becoming a nuclear power in 1998. AQ Khan, who died in 2021, remains a national hero in Pakistan and a symbol of the country’s nuclear identity even though many believe, he was the architect of a global nuclear black market.