WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2004
Khan begs nation's forgiveness
REUTERS
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan made a dramatic personal apology on Wednesday for leaking atomic secrets, the latest twist in a proliferation scandal stretching from Libya to North Korea.
In an address on state television, Khan, revered at home as the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, absolved the government and his fellow scientists of any blame in an apparent attempt by all concerned to draw a line under the damaging affair.
His public confession, which commentators said smacked of a cover up, followed a meeting earlier in the day with President Pervez Musharraf.
Western diplomats and many Pakistanis believe Khan could not have sold nuclear secrets and sent technology for enriching uranium abroad without the knowledge of top military officials.
An open trial of Khan could lead to embarrassing evidence implicating the powerful army, which Musharraf still heads, and make a national martyr of the scientist. Analysts say Musharraf may have agreed to pardon Khan in return for his apology.
"My brothers and sisters, I have chosen to appear before you to offer my deepest regrets and unqualified apologies to a traumatised nation," Khan said on state-run Pakistan Television.
"I also wish to clarify that there was never ever any kind of authorisation for these activities by the government. I take full responsibility for my actions and seek your pardon," the silver-haired 69-year-old added, speaking in English.
The appearance by Khan, at the centre of an international storm over Pakistan's role in nuclear proliferation during the 1980s and 1990s, was greeted with scepticism.
"There is no doubt that it is a cover-up," said Shahid-ur-Rehman, a Pakistani journalist and nuclear expert.
Musharraf has already made many enemies in Pakistan for supporting the US-led "war on terror" and trying to make peace with India, and diplomats say Washington would probably forgive him if he chose not to try Khan.
The general narrowly survived two assassination attempts late last year blamed on disgruntled Islamic militants, and the US administration sees him as a valuable ally.
Islamic opposition cries foul
The Islamic opposition has pounced on the government's treatment of Khan, saying he had been treated as a scapegoat and had only been hounded by the authorities because of pressure from the United States.
"I don't think people like AQ Khan should be tried. He is a national hero. He has developed the (nuclear) programme," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, head of the Islamic coalition which has threatened to call a national strike over the issue.
Pakistan originally denied its nuclear secrets and technology had been leaked, either officially or by individuals.
But it launched an investigation in November after the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency provided evidence pointing to Pakistan's involvement in Iran's nuclear programme. Similar links have been found with Libya.
A senior military official told Pakistani journalists on Sunday that Khan had made a detailed statement confessing to supplying designs, hardware and materials used to make enriched uranium for atomic bombs to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
Khan is reported to have said he was acting on the indirect instructions of two former army chiefs, Generals Aslam Beg and Jehangir Karamat Beg denied the charge.
"It was not under my control or within my purview to pass on any technology, nor was it is in my mandate to advise anyone else to do so, so that allegation is from the very first false," Beg told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
A friend of Khan has also been quoted as saying the scientist told investigators that Musharraf himself knew about the transfer of nuclear know-how to North Korea, an allegation the military called "absurd".
The government said the National Command Authority, which oversees Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and is due to meet later on Wednesday, would take a decision on whether to pardon him.
Following his meeting with Musharraf, Khan said he had requested the talks and held a frank exchange.
"The president was extremely kind and understanding," he said. "He appreciated the frankness with which I gave him the details."
Khan has been under 24-hour guard in recent days. Around 10 police and security officials were outside his villa in the capital Islamabad on Wednesday. Reporters trying to stake out his home were ordered to leave the area.
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