Pakistan able to target Delhi from Kahuta near Rawalpindi in five minutes: Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan

Islamabad: Architect of Pakistan's nuclear programme, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, on Saturday said the ability to Indian capital Delhi from Kahuta near Rawalpindi in five minutes.

Dr Khan, who illegally passed nuclear secrets to Iran, Syria and North Korea, was speaking on the anniversary of first nuclear tests, which were carried out under his supervision in 1998.

He also said that his country could have become a nuclear power as early as 1984 but the then President General Zia ul Haq "opposed the move".

General Zia opposed the nuclear testing as he believed that the world would intervene militarily, the disgraced scientist added.

Khan was disgraced in 2004 when he was forced to accept responsibility for proliferation and live a life of semi house arrest.