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Pakistan denies it sold N-tech to Arab states
 Pakistan denied on Monday that nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan sold nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries after Time magazine reported that the United States was investigating the matter. AQ Khan admitted last year to leaking nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea. The latest edition of Time said US officials were investigating whether Khan also sold sensitive technology to Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed dismissed the report as "baseless and sensationalised", though a Foreign Office spokesman said the case was not yet closed. "As far as Iran, Libya and North Korea are concerned, there was an admission. But there is no truth as far as Saudi Arabia and other countries are concerned," the minister said. "Nothing has gone (to these countries) from the KRL. Its complete record is available," he told Reuters, referring to the Khan Research Laboratories. Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said Pakistan was ready to investigate further if fresh evidence emerged. But, he insisted the government had dismantled Khan's network. "The international black market network, as far as it is related to Pakistan, has been dismantled. It has been neutralised," he told a weekly news conference. "The allegation has been made several times in the past, but this is part of a disinformation campaign. It is baseless (and) does not have any substance," he added. "It is a rehash of several speculative stories which have appeared in the media in the recent past." Masood Khan said the probe into AQ Khan's nuclear black market was not over and insisted that Islamabad had done its duty to the international community. "We have not closed investigations. If new fresh leads emerge we would like to check them out and if fresh evidence is furnished to us we would like to look into that," he said. "We have done more than any other country in the world. There are other countries... it was alleged that they were involved in the international black market. We are yet to see if they are looking for skeletons in their cupboards." The information minister and the Foreign Office spokesman both denied claims that 16 cylinders of uranium hexafluoride gas used for uranium enrichment were missing from KRL. "Our inventory is complete and nothing is missing from KRL," Rashid said. He added that there is no pressure on Pakistan to hand AQ Khan over to another country or the IAEA for interrogation. Posted by: Fred 2005-02-08 |
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