There are always other stories doing the rounds but some get more publicity than others.
IslamabadIn a major development, some eight Indian nuclear scientists, reported to be highly active members of Prasad-Chaudhary Nuclear Proliferation Network (PCNPN) have reacted very strongly to Indo-US nuclear deal, saying that the deal will bring a great interference of the US in Indias Sensitive Nuclear affairs.
In a letter The scientists, who include three former chiefs of the Atomic Energy Commission, Indias top atomic agency, led by Dr YSR Prasad, currently facing sanctions by the US State Department owing to his Nuclear Proliferation activities to help Iran and North Korea, in an open letter , sent to Indian parliament, urged that India should not agree to a deal that placed a perpetual restraint on its nuclear options. We have built our capabilities in many sensitive technological areas, which need not and should not be subjected to external control, they said in a joint statement, drafted and forwarded by Dr. Prasad, head of Prasad-Chaudhary Nuclear Proliferation Netwrok, a network, termed by various world agencies and media organization to be far bigger than Khan network.
While welcoming the broad thrust of the deal, they expressed concern over changes suggested as it has made its way through the U.S. legislature.
We find that this deal with the US, in the form approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, infringes on our independence for carrying out indigenous research and development, they wrote.
If the U.S. Congress, in its wisdom, passes the bill in its present form, the product will become unacceptable to India.
The deal, under which India will get access to nuclear fuel and equipment in return for international inspections and the separation of civilian and military programmes, received initial approval by the U.S. House of Representatives last month.
The scientists also appealed to Indian lawmakers to debate the suggested amendments and ensure they do not inhibit our future ability to develop and pursue nuclear technologies.
However, it is surprising and interesting as well that Dr. C Surrender Chaudhary, the prime accomplice of Dr. Prasad in Proliferation activities and was put under sanctions by the US State Department along with Dr. Prasad on 29th September 2004 when the State Department took the action under Nonproliferation Act 200 through Public Notice No-4845, notified it in the Federal Register as 69FR 58212 Notice, has not signed the said later. It is pertinent to mention here the Surrender Chaudharys name was deleted from the US State departments list of under sanctioned nuclear proliferation accused, earlier this year and is currently just under watch.
When contacted, , highly reliable sources at the IAEA in Vienna expressed their utmost surprise over such a belated yet, strong reaction on part of some Indian nuclear scientist, to merely mildest restriction by the US was highly surprising and to anybodys dismay.
The analysts, concerned, when contacted by The Daily Mail, were of the view that keeping in view the past record of Indian nuclear scientist regarding the proliferation activities that had been taking place with all the blessings of New Delhi, it can easily be ascertained that they were feeling perturbed the deal with the US as they must be fearing that under the deal, the US access to Indias nuclear affairs would expose the proliferation activities of the past as well as the present. I ask why they are so disturbed about the sensitivity of their nuclear programme since the said deal is limited to civilian nuclear infrastructure and not the military one? Well! The answer is that all the nuclear proliferation activities, carried out by Dr Prasad and his network took place mainly in the civilian side and thats what is making them more fearsome, asserted professor Ali Ahmed, a seasoned analyst and researcher. He was also of the opinion that Dr. Prasad, who has left no grace after being exposed as the main player of Indias nuclear underworld trade, and is still facing US sanctions for such acts, also wants to negotiate some barter deal with the Americans by forming a strong group to oppose the deal. See why Surrender Chaudhary did not sign the said letter ? just because he made a big gain by getting his name removed from the sanctions list and thus he did not want to annoy the Americans anymore whereas Prasad is still facing the charges so he also must be looking forward to some relief from Washington, observed Professor Ahmad.
A spotlight on Indian Nuclear Scientists proliferation history.
The Daily Mails investigation indicate that Dr Prasad and Dr Surendar remained hectically engaged in proliferation activities and kept supplying with atomic know-how and nuke tech to different countries with Iran being on top of list. Though the Indian nuke bigwigs took part in the global proliferation activities via the underworld nuclear network, established by Dr Prasad (details below) but their proliferation activities regarding Tehrans ambitious nuke infrastructure had all the blessings of Delhi and Iranian government was assured full back up support including the provision of a variety of parts and material by the Indian government. In fact Dr Prasad and Dr Surendar were all out create a state-of-the-art nuke infrastructure for the Iranians that could have enabled Tehran to establish a huge arsenal of Thermonuclear Weaponry and even the Hydrogen Bomb as Indian never wanted to have presence of such a facility at its soil due to certain objections of Israel and the US, however it was decided by Delhi to create such a facility at Iran for subsequent use by India eliminating all the risks on its part. Under this plan, the Indian nuke Scientists, tasked to assist Iranian nuke programme chalked out a special three-stage nuke project for Iranians, identical to the one that was earlier prepared for Indias own usage.
In the first stage of this programme, power reactors, that were to be provided to Tehran by Delhi were to utilize Natural Uranium. At the 2nd stage, fast breeder reactors were to be employed at Iranian nuke sites that were to use Plutonium from the first stage while at the 3rd stage reactors were to be run with Thorium and this Thorium was to be supplied to Iran by the Indian government from the sand beaches of Kerala and Orrisa where Indians have huge Thorium reserves. It is pertinent to mention here that the reactors that were proposed for Tehran are the ones where Indian Nuke Scientists developed a marvellous skill developing Tritium. However, this plan was immediately shelved after Delhi developed a hunch that Israeli Spy agency had scented this development and everything was being monitored.
Findings of The Daily Mail reveal that Indias nuclear cooperation with Iran also has a long history. In 1994 police in the West Khasi Hills District of Indian State of Meghalaya near Uranium mining site, accidentally arrested four persons trying to smuggle large quantity of Uranium. Police sources initially claimed that a former employee of Indian Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) then working in a Persian Gulf (probably Iran) was also registered by the Meghalaya Police Station against the said former official. However, the case was immediately hushed up so as not to expose the linkup of Indian nuclear establishment with nuclear underworld via Dubai, serving aspirant countries having cover nuclear programme for heavy sums of money.
The Daily Mails investigations indicate that in 1991 Tehran and delhi were negotiating the sale of a 10 megawatt research reactor for installation at Iranian facility at Kalaye Electric Company (KEC) and the possibility of sale of a research power reactor. US applied pressure on Indian not to undertake these contracts. Although under pressure India initially seemed to comply with the US demand, however, credible reports indicated that India, after all secretly carried through the deal by March 1992 despite US pressure. Interestingly it was at the KEC from where traces of LEU and HEU were discovered by the IAEA during environment sampling, which led to admittance by Tehran in October 2003 that it carried out centrifuge testing over there using UF6. It also admitted extraction of small amounts of Plutonium.
These disclosures were coupled with a sensational discovery that a leading Indian nuclear scientist and former Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) Dr Y S R Prasad has been employed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) after his retirement in 2000. The revelation came as a part of Irans efforts to fulfil its promise to the IAEA to make complete declaration of its past and present activities in a bid to clear its name from allegations of developing nuclear weapons. However, India managed to partially blackout the news with an amazing speed. The news item was got removed from the website of Hindustan Times within hours of its appearance under special instructions of Indian Ministry of Media and Information. Indian also send special emissary to Tehran urging it not to make any further disclosures about the extent of involvement in the Iranian nuclear programme of other officials of its Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and NPCIL. Indian External affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha also later paid a visit to Tehran on 13 December 2003 pleading with Iranians to mute on their nuclear engagements with the Indians. He reiterated Indias support to Iran on peaceful uses of nuclear energy and reiterated promise as bait to buy Iranian gas by laying a gas pipeline.
The Daily Mails research indicates that Dr Y S R Prasad, who worked a lifelong with the Indian nuclear establishment has had quite a history of questionable practices. During his frequent visits to the former Soviet Union in connection with nuclear collaboration programme between India and USSR subsequently Russia, Prasad developed an extensive network with the lowly paid off Soviet break-up owning to inflation and devaluation. Prasad soon developed a network of nuclear inventories of Russia and other breakaway Republics. At many of these facilities guards and even scientist remained without salaries for months.
Even back home, Prasads activities had started raising eyebrows. NPCIL, which Prasad headed, had become a breading ground for nepotism and sycophancy degenerating to a dangerous cover-up culture. Prasad was the linchpin of an unholy nexus between unscrupulous business establishments, corrupt officials of NPCIL and the sacred cow DAE, India. Serious irregularities were discovered by audit in the procurement by NPCIL for Kakrapara Atomic Power Station. Fraudulent practices were also reported in procurement for Kaiga I and II Power Stations in Karnatka and RAPP III and IV Power Stations at Rawatbhata near Kota, Rajasthan. Prasad meanwhile managed to get an extension in his service through his networking within the Indian nuclear establishment particularly with the blessings of Chairman AEC and Secretary DAE Dr Chidambaram, despite having reached the age of superannuation in 1998. Nonetheless, Prasad realized that it would be difficult for him to clinch to the Indian nuclear network for long and started looking for other venues. His contracts with Iran in connection with clandestine nuclear cooperation with Indian proved handy and landed him a job in Tehran., Prasad left NPCIL on 30 April 2003 but before he managed to manipulate putting his close confidant Chaudary Surender in his shoes even though Chaudary was also on a two years extension due to expire in August 2000.
Irans nuclear programme received a major boost with joining of Prasad. Owing to his resourceful network within the Indian and Russian nuclear circles, pieces of nuclear puzzle started to fall in place at a amazing pace. Alarm bells were raised and US put pressure on IAEA to very certain violations of Treaty obligations by Iran, supplying it some information from its own intelligence, which finally resulted in IAEA inspections in Iran. Thus Prasad unwittingly proved to be a precipitating factor in the disclosure of Irans secret nuclear programme.
The Daily Mails research suggests that nuclear cooperation between India and Iraq started in 1974 under the direct supervision of Saddam Hussain himself on the Iraqi side when he was still the Vice president. Saddam flew to India, especially to sign a Nuclear Cooperation Treaty with the then Indian Prime Minister late Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The little known Treaty involved the exchange of scientists, training and technology. To cover up this secret Treaty, India and Iraq signed an overt Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Republic of Iraq relating to the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy on 28 March 1974 at New Delhi. The then Indian Foreign Secretary Mr Kewal Singh and the Head of Iraqi Economic Bureau Mr Fakhri Y Kaddori signed the agreement, in the presence of Mrs Gandhi and Saddam. India tested it first nuclear explosive device on 18 May 1974, in less then two months time from signing of these agreements, thanks to the massive infusion of Iraqi petro-dollars to the programme. It sis a further irony that the 12 kilo-tons nuclear explosion was code name as Smiling Buddha by the Indians and obvious to insult the peaceful teachings of Buddha and reflective of the grudge that the Hindu extremists carry against Buddhism from having spread across the world from India rather than Hinduism.
Incidentally India had itself used the CANDU reactors, supplied to it by the Government of Canada to extract Plutonium for this test. In addition the technical assistance and reactor designs supplied by Canada to India enabled it to develop a capacity to produce over 300 kilograms of plutonium annually. Only 5 to 8 Kg Plutonium is required to produce a nuclear bomb. Canada again included India into CANDU discuss consultative information exchange Group in 1980s despite glaring abuse by it in the past. In 1995 Canadian Atomic Energy staff visited India to discuss another sale of CANDU reactors to India. It was at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre that India developed tritium a heavy water isotope using the Canadian design power reactors. The same tritium was used by it in the 1998 nuclear explosions.
Coming back to the Indo-Iraqi nexus, the Iraqi researchers were allowed access to work with Indian scientists in the Plutonium separation labs that were used to extract Plutonium for Indias first nuclear explosion. Saddam later managed to obtain a nuclear fuel-reprocessing unit from CNEN of Italy. India also leased numerous scientists to Iraq under the garb of Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation Agreement over the years. One such scientist spent a year, training Iraqi Atomic Energy Commissions scientists on use of nuclear computer codes to carry out computer simulated cold nuclear tests, including how easy it was to hide a nuclear weapons programme under the cover of peaceful use.
In the words of a former Iraqi nuclear scientists Khidhir Abdul Abas Hamza who managed to defect in 1994, Iraqs Nuclear weapons programme was personally directed byt Saddam, which was abetted by a host of Western countries and India over a period of several decades. According to Hamza it was surprising how easy it was to negotiate peaceful nuclear cooperation agreements with Soviet Union, India, Brazil, France, Germany and other European countries to cover obtaining technology for weapons programme. We were astonished that companies were actually helping us find cover stories for equipment needed by us, Hamza was quoted in an interview. Hamzas disclosures had detailed information about how some Indian companies and German companies, including Degussa AG Leybol etc, helped Iraq in establishing its nuclear programme.
The Daily Mails findings reveal that Iraq and India continued nuclear cooperation under the patronage of two governments and later extended this co-op to other Iraqi WMD programmes like Chemical and Biological Weapons. India had an extensive covert chemical weapons programme and its helped Iraq tremendously in this field. India itself lied to the international community when it signed the Chemical Weapons Treaty in 1997 as a non Chemical Weapons State but later admitted it CWs programme under threat of challenge inspection. In 1986 Iraq had procured 160,000 aluminium tubes from European suppliers and made additional purchases in 2000-1. These CIA presumed to be a proof of an Iraqi centrifuge program. Iraq turned to Indian company NEC and Dubai Branch of Indian Company TT S,A when other source failed to provide it with more tubes. A Dubai based Iraqi businessman Muntasir Awni acted as conduit between the two Indian companies and Iraqi company Rasheed for supply of these aluminium tubes. NEC Engineers India Private Ltd also supplied al-Mamoon Company in Iraq a new plant to produce ammonium per-chlorate a key ingredient in the production of solid fuel propellant rocket motors. NEC also supplied technology for Fallujah 2 chlorine plant. According to an Iraqi independent paper al Mada Saddam also used oil as bribes to Indian Congress Partys top officials with the aim to create political support inside of India for such sensitive transfers.
It is evident that if the international community is serious about stoppage of WMDs production and nuclear proliferation, it has got to place emphasis on India and West rather than peripheries, for its here that the buck starts and stops.
