US put atom scientist out of business
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| Sun, 02-08-2004 - 10:30pm |
America closed down the Pakistani-based "nuclear supermarket" by confronting President Pervaiz Musharraf with "mind boggling" evidence and threatening isolation and economic sanctions, it emerged yesterday.
A high-powered American delegation met Gen Musharraf last October and demanded that he deal with Abdul Qadeer Khan, the "father" of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, who has confessed to trading atomic secrets.
Gen Musharraf: 'stunned' by the detailed evidence
The pressure on Gen Musharraf was comparable to the aftermath of September 11, when America demanded - and received - Pakistan's support against al-Qa'eda and the Taliban regime.
News of the secret confrontation helps to explain Washington's muted public response since Khan confessed last week to selling nuclear technology to the world's most radical anti-Western states. It was the biggest network for the spread of weapons of mass destruction ever uncovered, providing key technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
Richard Armitage, the US deputy secretary of state, met Gen Musharraf at his official residence in Rawalpindi on Oct 6 last year. Mr Armitage came armed with evidence compiled by the CIA and MI6.
Gen Musharraf was "stunned" by the detail. Khan's meetings with dealers in controlled weapons technology had all been tracked. Bank accounts holding payments made for nuclear secrets were recorded.
The Americans had tracked every journey Khan had made outside Pakistan. A senior Pakistani official said the evidence against the scientist was "mind boggling".
The Americans increased the pressure. A few hours after Mr Armitage departed, Gen John Abizaid, the head of US Central Command, repeated the unequivocal message that action must be taken against Khan.
"We were told that failure to take action will most certainly jeopardise ties with the US and other important nations of the world," said the official. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later confirmed the allegations by passing on evidence from inspections of nuclear facilities in Libya and Iran.
"Both the US government and the IAEA separately reminded Pakistan that its failure to pin the responsibility of proliferation activities might lead to sanctions by the US and the United Nations," another Pakistani official told The News.
Nonetheless, Gen Musharraf did not capitulate immediately. He ordered Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency to conduct an inquiry. When this verified many of the major American claims, he placed Khan under house arrest last November.
American concern over Khan is not new. As long ago as 2001, Gen Musharraf bowed to US demands for him to be removed as head of the Khan Research Laboratories, nerve centre of the nuclear weapons programme.
In 1998, Pakistan took delivery of long-range Nodong missiles from North Korea. These weapons, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead for 900 miles, brought almost every Indian city within range of a nuclear strike from Pakistan. Khan has since confirmed the quid pro quo for this deal: centrifuge technology for producing weapons-grade uranium.
America tracked this movement of materials and Colin Powell, the secretary of state, made his suspicions clear during a meeting with Gen Musharraf in July 2002.
Yet only the application of maximum pressure brought the downfall of Khan and the end of his nuclear smuggling ring last week.

I am dumbfounded that Khan is pardoned!
Musharraf defends pardon of Khan.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13384005
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday defended his decision to pardon Pakistan's top nuclear scientist A Q Khan, who admitted selling nuclear secrets to Libya, North Korean and Iran.
In an interview with NBC News from Islamabad, Musharraf also said he would support the deployment of more US troops in Afghanistan's border region with Pakistan in order to hunt down members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Musharraf called Abdul Qadeer Khan, the founder of the country's nuclear weapons program, a "hero" who could have hurt Pakistan by selling nuclear know-how to Libya and three of the two countries in President George W. Bush's "axis of evil" -- Iran and North Korea. Iraq was the third nation.
"The dilemma is: he's a great man, he's a hero, and he's a hero of every individual in the street," he told NBC.
"Yet he has done something which could bring harm to the nation. Now how do I deal with it? We had to handle it very carefully."
In a television statement last week, Khan apologized for selling nuclear information; he was later pardoned by Musharraf.
On Afghanistan, Musharraf said he would support the deployment of US troops near the Pakistani border, but that it would be impossible for them to cross over to Pakistan.
Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters have used tribal areas on the Pakistani side of the border as a sanctuary from which to mount attacks against US and Afghan government forces.
"I have been all along saying that there's a vacuum in ghanistan which we have to fill in the countryside," he said. "So I'm for increasing strength there."
US troops are not needed in Pakistan's side of the border because al-Qaeda members hiding there "are not in such strength that a whole operation, a massive operation has to be launched," he said.
"And we have developed a very effective, quick reaction force," he said.
"So that is what is required, and we are capable of doing all of that," he added.
The important thing is that it's out and stopped now, and I'm willing to bet that Pakistan won't be trying anything else like it again.
Renee
AQ Khan suffers heart attack, condition critical.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_573900,00050002.htm
Pakistan's top scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, involved in clandestine nuclear sales to "rogue states", has reportedly suffered a heart attack.
"Dr Khan is under treatment at his residence and his condition is stated to be critical," a local daily quoted officials of the of the hospital of the country's premier nuclear installation, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) formerly headed by Khan, as saying.
It said in view of his "poor cardiac" condition, a heart specialist along with a cardiac machine was "secretly" sent to the nuclear scientist's residence.
Khan had been suffering from pain in his left hand since he was questioned by intelligence agencies for the past few months for his alleged involvement in transferring nuclear technology, The Dawn said.
He met President Pervez Musharraf a fortnight ago and admitted his guilt. He confessed about his involvement in nuclear proliferation over state television after which he was pardoned by the military ruler.
The newspaper said Khan had never suffered from cardiac complaint before the incident, but he often felt pain in his left hand whenever he took extra burden and pressure of official work.
"Dr Khan was holding his left hand when he was shown the last time on television after his meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharaff," it said adding he had been placed in either "protective custody or house arrest since December and that he had been asked to avoid appearing at public places and functions."
Khan has also been prohibited from attending telephone calls and speaking to the media, the paper said.
The newspaper also quoted some family members of the other KRL nuclear scientists and officials as saying that the condition of Khan and his Dutch wife Hamdarina was "bad".
"Both of them are suffering from high blood pressure and they have been given potency doses by the doctors of the KRL hospital," it said.
The newspaper also said Pakistan's Defence spokesman Major General Shoukar Sultan and Senior Director of KRL hospital, Ali Raza Kazmi refused to comment on the condition of Khan.
Pakistan government has detained 11 KRL scientists and officials in connection with allegations of proliferation of nuclear technology to Libya, North Korea and Iran.
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