Beyond the Bomb

In the war that tore a nation in half, Pakistan’s top scientists were summoned to a secret meeting with one objective: build the bomb, no matter the cost. At the heart of this was President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s handpicked nuclear expert, Munir Ahmad Khan. For two decades, Munir Ahmed Khan worked behind a thick veil of secrecy, building key nuclear structures in a race against time, sanctions and a smear campaign. In Beyond the Bomb, Farhatullah Babar, who served in the PAEC then and later as a Senator on the Senate’s Defence Committee, details in graphic detail the untold story of the unsung architect of Pakistan’s atomic programme. Blending public-domain information with deep insight, the book is a gripping account of the events behind the headlines and a profound exploration of nuclear command and control, inviting readers to ponder beyond the bomb. In the backdrop of nuclear brinkmanship in the subcontinent and the Defence Agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in September 2025, with hints of bringing Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella into the region’s security calculus, Farhatullah Babar’s memoirs are essential reading.