The latest set of US declassified documents have reportedly revealed that Pakistan's illegal nuclear procurement was exposed as early a 1987 with the arrest of a Pakistani national that led to divisions in the US government.
The documents, published by the National Security Archive and the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, indicated that the Regan administration decided to ignore it in lieu of Pakistan's contribution in Afghanistan against the Russians.
According to the Daily Times, Arshed Pervez's arrest on charges of illegal nuclear procurement roiled US-Pakistan relations and sharpened divisions within the Reagan administration.
The documents revealed that the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) director Kenneth Adelman wanted to crack down on the Pakistani nuclear programme by cutting military and economic aid.
However, the State Department took a contrary view because US aid to Pakistan supported the mujahideen in Afghanistan.
Adelman wanted President Reagan to invoke the Solarz amendment which required an aid cut-off in the event that governments receiving US aid or their agents illegally tried to procure material that could be used for a nuclear weapons programme, but he refused to do so over reasons of 'national security'.
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The declassified documents point to a key figure in the AQ Khan nuclear procurement network, Inamul Haq, who was working closely with Pervez, who evaded arrest by slipping out of the United States at the last minute.
The report added that the documents show the 'illegal network' had Islamabad's 'approval, protection, and funding'.