Share this story!            

Ministry denies Faisal said Khan is not a suspect

ISLAMABAD: The Interior Ministry on Friday clarified a statement by Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat that Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan was not a suspect in the alleged transfer of nuclear technology to Iran and Libya, saying the statement attributed to him was not correct.

The spokesman said what Mr Hayat said on Thursday was that it was premature to comment on the matter until investigations were completed. “If anyone is found involved in the case, his deeds will be brought before the nation,” the spokesman said, adding it would not be in the national interest to speculate at that stage. He said any conclusion could only be drawn after investigations were completed.

The minister had said Dr Khan was being questioned along with other scientists but was not found guilty. Foreign Office spokesman Masood Ahmed Khan on Friday said that a small number of scientists and former military personnel were being questioned to investigate nuclear leaks to Iran and Libya.

Mr Khan said investigations would focus on a possible link between the international black market and some Pakistani individuals on the basis of information provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran. He said the ongoing investigation was comprehensive and addressed all aspects.

“These investigations are likely to conclude soon,” he added.

He rejected a report by New York Times that the Pakistani government had kept double standards during investigations, saying double standards had, however been demonstrated by not questioning others having link with blackmarketeers. The spokesman said the Government of Pakistan had never proliferated nuclear technology and would never do so. “There is no evidence that any civil or military government was involved in it. No government institution or entity - civilian or military - has ever sanctioned or authorised anybody in this regard,” Mr Khan said.

He also denied that Pakistan had supplied nuclear technology to North Korea. “The extent of Pakistan’s interaction was limited to the purchase of conventional short-range surface-to-air missiles, which is public knowledge,” he added.

Meanwhile, senior government and intelligence officials on Friday said that Dr AQ Khan was the prime suspect in the probe into alleged nuclear leaks to Iran and Libya. Evidence collected so far strongly points to Dr Khan’s involvement in the alleged leaks in the late 1980s and early 1990s, they said.

“There is sufficient evidence of links between a handful of individuals in Pakistan and the international black market mafia trading in nuclear technology, with Dr AQ Khan being a primary figure in the shadowy business,” a government official said on condition of anonymity. The investigation into the alleged leaks was launched after the IAEA) wrote to the government in November relaying information provided by Tehran about the alleged sales of nuclear know-how.

The letter mentioned the names of some Pakistani scientists suspected of selling nuclear know-how for personal profit. The officials said the government was divided over how to handle the case against Dr AQ Khan. Investigators are questioning Dr Khan but he has not been placed under detention. “Dr AQ Khan is too big to be questioned the way the others are being questioned. The domestic fallout of his questioning might prove unmanageable for the government,” an intelligence official said.

President Musharraf was first alerted about the nuclear leaks by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami during the Organisation of Islamic Conference summit in Malaysia last year, the official said. Khatami told Musharraf that Tehran was under pressure from the IAEA to disclose how it acquired centrifuge technology to make weapons-grade uranium, the key ingredient in nuclear fissile material. –Agencies

Home | Main

Share this story!