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August 14, 1996: A. Q. Khan Receives Pakistani State Award

1996-08-14

Nuclear proliferator A. Q. Khan receives Pakistan’s highest civilian honor, the Nishan-i-Imtiaz, from Pakistani President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari. The decision to grant the award was taken by Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, following pressure from supporters of Khan (see July 4, 1996). Bhutto will later say that the supporters called her at her office, demanding more tangible recognition for Khan’s “invaluable work.” “They kept pressuring me,” she will recall. “There was no modesty about it.” [Levy and Scott-Clark, 2007, pp. 262]