WASHINGTON, April 13 (UPI) -- Pakistan's nuclear bomb never was Islamic, said the country's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, whose father popularized the term "Islamic bomb."
In an exclusive written response to United Press International's questions, Benazir Bhutto provided information on Pakistan's nuclear arms development.
Pakistan's nuclear program, launched in 1974 soon after India's first nuclear test, has always been controversial. Since the then two superpowers -- the United States and the former Soviet Union -- were opposed to Pakistan having a nuclear bomb, Pakistani leaders had to use all overt and covert means available to them.
Bhutto was invited by UPI to comment on some of the issues raised about Pakistan's nuclear program.
The reports claim the Libyan and Iranian governments financed Pakistan's nuclear program, offering hundreds of millions of dollars. They also claim senior Pakistani military and civilian officials pocketed some of the money offered for the program, while some was used for making the bomb as well.
Throughout the letter, she emphasized Pakistan's bomb was never an Islamic bomb and that no Muslim country financed the country's nuclear program.
