# A.Q. Khan > **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou. > > Cite as: "A.Q. Khan," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/aq-khan/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia. *Pakistani nuclear scientist and the architect of Pakistan's bomb, who ran a black-market proliferation network that, per John Kiriakou, smuggled nuclear material and technology to North Korea and Libya. Kiriakou says the U.S. could easily have killed him, 'we knew where he lived, we knew how he spent his day', but the Saudi government insisted the U.S. leave him alone, which Kiriakou calls a grave mistake and speculates was because the Saudis were pursuing their own nuclear capability. Khan was eventually pardoned by Pervez Musharraf, ending all investigations.* - **Role:** Father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb; proliferation-network operator - **Proliferation (per Kiriakou):** Material/technology to North Korea and Libya - **U.S. posture:** Could have killed him; Saudis insisted he be left alone - **Outcome:** Pardoned by [Pervez Musharraf](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/pervez-musharraf) **Abdul Qadeer Khan**, A.Q. Khan, was the Pakistani scientist regarded as the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb and the operator of a black-market proliferation network. [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou), who was chief of [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) counterterrorism operations in Pakistan in 2002, discussed Khan as a threat the United States chose not to confront. ## The proliferation network Per [Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou), it emerged during his time in Pakistan that nuclear material was being smuggled out to North Korea, and that Libyan nuclear material was also moving through Khan's network. Khan's dealings were not Kiriakou's portfolio, he was strictly counterterrorism, but a colleague's *"entire life was dealing with A.Q. Khan."*[1][2] ## *"We would have just killed him"* Kiriakou's assessment: *"If we had taken the Israeli approach we would have just killed him. He was easy enough to find. We knew where he lived. We knew how he spent his day."* But Khan had the protection of the Saudi government, which came to the United States and said: *"Please leave him alone. We like A.Q. Khan. We're working with A.Q. Khan. We're close to the Pakistanis."* Kiriakou calls the decision not to confront Khan *"a mistake that the US government made,"* one ordered from the White House at Saudi insistence.[2][3][4] Kiriakou's own speculation, which he is careful to label as unproven: the Saudis may have protected Khan because they were themselves building a nuclear capability.[4] ## The book Kiriakou notes that when he later served as chief investigator on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he worked for a former journalist who, with his wife, wrote what Kiriakou calls the most detailed book ever written about Khan, first titled *The Man from Pakistan*, retitled *The Nuclear Jihadist* in paperback.[5] Khan was eventually pardoned by [Pervez Musharraf](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/pervez-musharraf), ending all investigations.[6] ## See also - [Pervez Musharraf](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/pervez-musharraf) - [ISI](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/isi) - [CIA](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/cia) - [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) ## Sources 1. Pakistan's Nuclear Secrets, CIA Lies, ISI's Double Game: Ex-CIA John Kiriakou (2025-10-24), at 26:30. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyrvsi1nTw&t=1590s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-10-24-pakistan-nuclear-secrets-cia-lies/ 2. Pakistan's Nuclear Secrets, CIA Lies, ISI's Double Game: Ex-CIA John Kiriakou (2025-10-24), at 27:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyrvsi1nTw&t=1620s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-10-24-pakistan-nuclear-secrets-cia-lies/ 3. Pakistan's Nuclear Secrets, CIA Lies, ISI's Double Game: Ex-CIA John Kiriakou (2025-10-24), at 27:30. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyrvsi1nTw&t=1650s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-10-24-pakistan-nuclear-secrets-cia-lies/ 4. Pakistan's Nuclear Secrets, CIA Lies, ISI's Double Game: Ex-CIA John Kiriakou (2025-10-24), at 29:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyrvsi1nTw&t=1740s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-10-24-pakistan-nuclear-secrets-cia-lies/ 5. Pakistan's Nuclear Secrets, CIA Lies, ISI's Double Game: Ex-CIA John Kiriakou (2025-10-24), at 28:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyrvsi1nTw&t=1680s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-10-24-pakistan-nuclear-secrets-cia-lies/ 6. Pakistan's Nuclear Secrets, CIA Lies, ISI's Double Game: Ex-CIA John Kiriakou (2025-10-24), at 31:00. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyrvsi1nTw&t=1860s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-10-24-pakistan-nuclear-secrets-cia-lies/ --- From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/aq-khan/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt