A.Q. Khan’s family figures in Panama Papers
KARACHI: The family of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, has been named in the Panama Papers. Abdul Quyuim Khan, the brother of A.Q. Khan, and Hendrina, his wife, as well as Dina and Ayesha Khan, his two daughters, are all shown as owners of Wahdat Ltd, a company registered in the Bahamas.
Although the names are not part of the data released online by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Wahdat Ltd does appear on the website. However, it has been named in the larger database obtained by the group. The company was registered in January of 1998, months before the nuclear tests of May that year, and deregistered on Dec 31, 1999, shortly after the Oct 12 coup.
“I have never even heard the name of this company,” A.Q. Khan told Dawn over phone. “Neither did my wife and daughters. My brother, who died a few years ago, was with Habib Bank and, as you know, bankers are always up to their tricks and hanky panky,” he said without mincing words. “My wife and daughters never signed any documents to create this company. The signatures (on the incorporation paperwork) are surely false. My brother never discussed it with me and my family only heard about this company after the Panama Papers release.”