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Scientist allowed first social visit in four years
Nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan was on Wednesday allowed a social visit for the first time since he was placed under house arrest more than four years ago over nuclear proliferation issues.
- By Shahid Hussain, Correspondent
- Published: 00:19 May 23, 2008
Islamabad: Nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan was on Wednesday allowed a social visit for the first time since he was placed under house arrest more than four years ago over nuclear proliferation issues.
Khan was taken to the Academy of Sciences under strict security from his guarded residence after he requested a meeting with old friends. He later said by telephone that he was happy to have had the opportunity to meet old friends.
The 30-minute visit to the academy did indicate a relaxation in curbs imposed on the scientist but a senior official was quick to point out that it was not be taken as a sign that all restrictions were to be done away with.
The party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, meanwhile, plans to observe next week the 10th anniversary of the nuclear tests carried out in May 1998 as a response to nuclear tests by India.
Khan confessed on state-run television in February 2004 to having passed on nuclear secrets to other states, which officials then identified as Iran, Libya and North Korea.
President Pervez Musharraf granted the disgraced scientist pardon but placed him under house detention.
Islamabad has all along held that the illegal nuclear proliferation ring run by Khan has been completely dismantled after a thorough probe and that it is a closed chapter.
The government has ruled out giving any foreign agency or country access to the scientist.
Islamist parties and other groups have all along been clamouring for the lifting of restrictions on a man widely considered the architect of the country's nuclear programme.
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