All nuclear weapon states developed the capability in the context of their specific geo-political environment none was motivated by civilization, religion, or ideology. Pakistan, the first Muslim state to acquire nuclear technology, was motivated solely by the 'never again'resolve after the 1971 disaster. Until then, it had ruled out development of nuclear weapons and even refused a French company's offer of a plutonium separation plant in 1967. President Ayub Khan believed Pakistan could deter Indian aggression by conventional forces.
Years before he became president in December 1971, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had once rhetorically argued that if Christian, Communist, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu civilizations had the right to develop the nuclear bomb, why should Pakistan abstain from producing an 'Islamic bomb?'
When Pakistan actually embarked on the pursuit, Indian propagandists pounced on Bhutto's pronouncement to stroke atavistic prejudices in Indian and the West. The instigation became all the more sinister after the slogan of 'clash of civilizations'gained currency as a political idea and Osama Bin Lade unleashed terrorism against the United States.
