Pakistani nuclear scientist admits transferring nuke technology

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, February 02, 2004

Pakistani nuclear scientist admits transferring nuke technology

Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is credited to have set up Pakistan's nuclear program, has admitted to having transferred nuclear technology to foreign countries, reported The Dawn newspaper Monday.

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Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who is credited to have set up Pakistan's nuclear program, has admitted to having transferred nuclear technology to foreign countries, reported The Dawn newspaper Monday.

Abundant evidence to the effect is said to have been extracted during the almost two-month-long "debriefing" of most of the top scientists and officials of the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), according to the report.

"Earlier Abdul Qadeer Khan was avoiding to accept the allegation of proliferation but later admitted during four intensesessions of two hours each," the newspaper quoted sources as saying, adding that the latest session in this regard was completed on Sunday.

About the fate of Khan and other officials of KRL, the sources said the National Command Authority would decide whether to formally charge Khan and try him in court or simply take administrative steps.

Immediately following the conclusion of the "debriefing," a heavy contingent of army was deployed around the residence of Khan,said the report of the Dawn.

The Pakistani government is said to have also concluded that itwas a huge intelligence lapse as those who were charged with safeguarding the country's nuclear secrets were found to have failed miserably to detect such a massive leak over such a long period, the report said.

"Everybody knew ours was a covert program and every successive government and security agencies overlooked allegations about Dr. Khan's assets in the interest of the program because of the trust in his person, who without any doubt was a towering personality," the sources said.

Source: Xinhua

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