The Hindu : A.Q. Khan admits to transferring technology

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 03, 2004

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A.Q. Khan admits to transferring technology

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, FEB. 2. After weeks of agony, Pakistan has let it be known that A.Q. Khan, considered the father of the country's nuclear programme, has admitted to having transferred nuclear technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya.

The authorities investigating the scandal on the basis of the information provided by the International Atomic Energy gave a background briefing to a select group of local journalists late on Sunday. The modus operandi seems to suggest that the Government wants to handle the controversy with extreme caution. Dr. Khan is said to have accepted the allegation about the transfer of nuclear technology to these three countries, in a signed 12-page document, which he had submitted to the authorities a few days ago.

The journalists were told that Dr. Khan and his colleagues were not motivated by pecuniary considerations but by the country's larger interests. It was explained that they thought such transfers would deflect international attention from Pakistan's overt nuclear programme.

The Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf's explanation is that the leaks occurred since for over three decades the country's nuclear programme was "covert" with enormous freedom to the scientists and the institutions they represented. His case is that the National Command Authority, vested with control of nuclear weapons and programmes, was established only in 2000 and since then there had been no proliferation.

About the fate of Dr. Khan and other officials of the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), the sources said the National Command Authority would decide whether to formally charge them and try them in court or simply take administrative steps. The Government is said to have concluded that it was a huge intelligence lapse as those tasked with safeguarding Pakistan's nuclear secrets had failed to detect such a massive leak over such a long period.

In a related development, the Government allowed relatives of the detained scientists to visit them for one hour on the occasion of Id day today while the court had fixed the visiting hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Six nuclear scientists were placed in "protective custody" for passing nuclear technology to Iran and Libya.

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