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| Monday, 2 February 2004 |
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Pakistan sacks "father" of nuclear program ISLAMABAD, Sunday (Reuters) Pakistan fired the "father" of its nuclear programme from his position as scientific adviser to the prime minister amid a probe into the possible sale of nuclear technology to Iran and Libya. The sacking of top nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan was announced just a few days after the United States took possession of Libyan documents and equipment for nuclear weapon and missile programmes Libya agreed to abandon in December. A government statement said Khan had "ceased to hold the office" of special adviser to the prime minister on the strategic programme while a government body in charge of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and chaired by President Pervez Musharraf said it condemned "individual acts of indiscretions". Pakistani experts and Western diplomats doubt whether top scientists could have traded secrets abroad without the knowledge of senior military and intelligence officials. Khan's removal also comes amid increasing calls from the international community for wider access to Iran's nuclear facilities and less than a year after the United States invaded Iraq on the premise it had weapons of mass destruction that posed an international threat. Khan's fate is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, where he is revered as the "father" of the country's and the Islamic world's atomic bomb, seen by many Pakistanis as a vital deterrent to nuclear rival India. The decision coincided with a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA) that controls Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, is chaired by Musharraf and composed of military, political and scientific officials. The military repeated earlier statements from Musharraf that rogue scientists operating without official sanction must be blamed for any illegal proliferation of nuclear secrets. "The NCA... reiterated Pakistan's strong resolve and commitment in adherence to international agreements of non-proliferation," a statement said."The government condemns and distances itself in categorical terms from individual acts of indiscretion in the past." Musharraf said earlier this month it appeared Pakistani scientists had sold nuclear secrets abroad. Musharraf has said he would deal harshly with anyone found guilty "because they are the enemy of the state". Hours after his removal the military said Khan's security had been enhanced. Western diplomats have said Pakistani scientists might also have sold nuclear technology to North Korea, which has been in the crisis spotlight since 2002 when U.S. officials said Pyongyang had told them it was pursuing a secret nuclear programme. North Korea denies saying such things. The Pakistani investigation is nearing a conclusion. Khan, several of his colleagues and former military officers were questioned in recent weeks after a U.N. nuclear watchdog began looking into links between Pakistan's nuclear programme and those of Iran and Libya. |
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