Islamabad - A Pakistani court on Friday declared disgraced
nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan a free man, his lawyer said.
'He is a free man now. The Islamabad High Court has ended his
house arrest and lifted travel restrictions he was subjected to for
the last five years,' Khan's attorney Iqbal Jaffery said.
Khan was placed under house arrest by the government of former
president Pervez Musharraf in 2004 after he made a televised
confession for leaking nuclear secrets to foreign countries like
Iran, Libya and North Korea. Later he retracted the statement.
Talking to media in person for the first time in five years at his
bungalow in an upmarket neighbourhood of Islamabad, Khan said he
would travel to other cities to see his relatives and friends.
Previously he had been in contact with the media via the
telephone, letters and email. For the last couple of months, he has
been writing regular columns in an Urdu-language daily newspaper.
Khan said he would not engage in nuclear activities and planned to
establish an educational institution to promote engineering and
industrial education.
His release might raise some concerns internationally,
particularly in the United States and with Inspectors from the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose requests to question
Khan over his alleged involvement in nuclear technology smuggling
were denied by the Pakistani government.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit refused to be
drawn on the issue, saying, 'The so-called A Q Khan affair is a
closed chapter.'
'As a responsible nuclear weapon state, Pakistan has taken all
necessary measures to promote the goals of non-proliferation,' he
said, adding that the country had also extended its fullest
cooperation to the international community.
Khan is regarded as a national hero for spearheading Pakistan's
nuclear programme. The new civilian government, which replaced former
premier Pervez Musharraf's regime last year, was under immense public
pressure to release Khan.
Khan declined to comment on the proliferation allegations he has
been subjected to. 'Just leave that, what happened has happened,' he
said.
'I will always be proud of what I did for Pakistan,' he added.
The court verdict came weeks after the US imposed sanctions on
Khan, 12 other individuals and three private companies suspected of
nuclear proliferation.
'We believe these sanctions will help prevent future
proliferation-related activities by these private entities, provide a
warning to other would-be proliferators,' the US State Department
said in a statement on January 12.
Asked if his release would upset the US, Khan said: 'I have no
idea, I don't think so. Its between our government and me, not
between me and the American government.'
USA
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