Saturday, May 27, 2006
Case against AQ Khan 'far from closed': US expert http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\05\27\story_27-5-2006_pg1_1
* Says Pakistan provided incomplete info about Khan network * IAEA should have direct access to Khan and his associates * Fears Khan network could be seed for proliferation
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: In testimony before Congress on Thursday, a leading nuclear expert insisted that contrary to what a Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson had said, the case against Dr AQ Khan was "far from closed" and many questions, especially about Iran, remain unanswered.
The hearing, held by the subcommittee on international terrorism and non-proliferation, received testimony from, among others, by David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS). The hearing, which mainly featured the AQ Khan network, was hurriedly arranged, not having been on the concerned congressional subcommittee's announced schedule, and should be seen as the beginning of a pressure-building process vis-a-vis Pakistan.
The recent Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson's statement that the case against Dr Khan was now closed and all important information had been gathered and shared, was received with surprise in Washington and viewed negatively, with some in the administration and Congress interpreting it as a counter-pressure tactic against the United States.
Albright argued that specific questions involving Iran include the extent of centrifuge assistance, the logistics of that assistance and the possible supply of nuclear weapon design supplied to Iran by the Khan network. "These areas remain especially troubling as we try to determine exactly how close Iran could be to building nuclear weapons and what sensitive information may remain in circulation around the world that could fall into the hands of other enemies of the United States," Albright told the subcommittee.
He also charged that the information supplied by the Pakistan government to the IAEA and other governments "appears so far to be incomplete." He said the Pakistan government needed to provide "more assistance" to investigators, including the IAEA and affected governments "direct access to question Khan and his associates verbally." This would enable the IAEA and affected governments carried out more thorough investigations and to pursue more effectively criminal prosecutions of individuals involved in the network and to recover physical remnants of the illicit procurement network that have not yet been found and that could provide the seeds for future, secret nuclear weapons programmes.
Albright also found the nuclear export control system created by Pakistan as not having so far been implemented. One necessary step, he suggested, would be to "prosecute Pakistani members of the network to send a clear signal that Pakistan will punish illegal exporters severely and thereby reduce the likelihood that someone will step into Khan's shoes". He added that no prosecutions appear to have been so far planned by Pakistan, which increases suspicions that the Pakistan government is "hiding information about the network's activities".
Albright said that it was not yet certain if the network could rise again or its remnants become the "seed for a new network". The nuclear expert also faulted the United States for lack of cooperation with a Swiss company which was part of the Khan network.
Congressman Ed Royce, the subcommittee chairman, said the Khan network has helped deliver to America two of the most threatening security challenges it faces: North Korea and Iran.
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