lennart
03-02-04, 18:10
Scientist 'denies nuclear deals'
A senior Pakistani opposition figure says it is not true that the county's top nuclear scientist has admitted leaking nuclear secrets.
Pakistan officials say that Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has confessed to giving nuclear secrets to groups working for Iran, Libya and North Korea.
But Islamist politician Qazi Hussain Ahmed says Dr Khan has told him he made no such confession.
Dr Khan was sacked on Saturday from his job as a government advisor.
A military spokesman told Reuters news agency that the government and army gave Dr Khan complete autonomy as he worked on developing Pakistan's nuclear capability.
More than 15 people from the nuclear enrichment facility that Dr Khan used to run, Khan Research Laboratories, have been questioned in investigations into the leaks of nuclear secrets.
'Left to God'
Dr Khan is being kept under 24-hour supervision by the government.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed spoke to him by phone on Monday night, a spokesman for Mr Hussein's Jamaat-i-Islami party told the BBC.
Dr Khan said he had not signed any confession to leaking nuclear secrets, the spokesman said.
He quoted Dr Khan as saying: "I have left everything to God. I need people's good wishes."
Dr Khan has not been seen in public since he was sacked on Saturday from his post as special science and technology adviser to President Pervez Musharraf.
Dr Khan is widely viewed as a hero in Pakistan for his role in developing its nuclear capacity.
His dismissal has sparked a national outcry.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3456231.stm
De oppositie heeft aangekondigd om te protesteren vrijdag aanstaande.
A senior Pakistani opposition figure says it is not true that the county's top nuclear scientist has admitted leaking nuclear secrets.
Pakistan officials say that Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has confessed to giving nuclear secrets to groups working for Iran, Libya and North Korea.
But Islamist politician Qazi Hussain Ahmed says Dr Khan has told him he made no such confession.
Dr Khan was sacked on Saturday from his job as a government advisor.
A military spokesman told Reuters news agency that the government and army gave Dr Khan complete autonomy as he worked on developing Pakistan's nuclear capability.
More than 15 people from the nuclear enrichment facility that Dr Khan used to run, Khan Research Laboratories, have been questioned in investigations into the leaks of nuclear secrets.
'Left to God'
Dr Khan is being kept under 24-hour supervision by the government.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed spoke to him by phone on Monday night, a spokesman for Mr Hussein's Jamaat-i-Islami party told the BBC.
Dr Khan said he had not signed any confession to leaking nuclear secrets, the spokesman said.
He quoted Dr Khan as saying: "I have left everything to God. I need people's good wishes."
Dr Khan has not been seen in public since he was sacked on Saturday from his post as special science and technology adviser to President Pervez Musharraf.
Dr Khan is widely viewed as a hero in Pakistan for his role in developing its nuclear capacity.
His dismissal has sparked a national outcry.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3456231.stm
De oppositie heeft aangekondigd om te protesteren vrijdag aanstaande.