Pakistan has lifted some of the restrictions imposed on Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced nuclear scientist, in a significant departure from previous policy, senior Pakistani officials and diplomats said on Monday. The change reverses some of the curbs placed on him in February 2004 when he publicly admitted trading nuclear know how and technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, a senior Pakistani official told the FT. Mr Khan was given a presidential pardon by General Pervez Musharraf, PakistanÂ’s military ruler, for his services to the country, but has lived under virtual house arrest since then.
During this time, Pakistan has turned down requests from international officials investigating the scale to which IranÂ’s nuclear program has developed for access to Mr Khan, who is thought to be being among the few non-Iranians who has any insight into the progress made by Tehran.
PakistanÂ’s foreign ministry said on Monday there was no change in Mr KhanÂ’s status and that he continued to live a quiet life with his family in a wealthy district of Islamabad.
But friends of Mr Khan said he had been given permission to meet with groups of up to five people at a time, preferably over lunch or dinner. They said, he is also allowed to visit Karachi, the southern port city, where his sister and brother live. “This is a huge shift in the way A.Q Khan has lived these past three and a half years.” said Shahid-ur-Rehman, author of a book on Pakistan’s nuclear programme, who met Mr Khan several times before he was placed under house arrest.
Opinion among observers over what has prompted the easing of the restrictions is divided. Senior western diplomats say the Pakistani government may have been moved by Mr KhanÂ’s declining health and treatment for prostate cancer last year.
“If he is not in very good health, it’s best to let his friends and family see and know for themselves that he is receiving the best possible medical care,” said one western diplomat.
| Perhaps Musharraf has seen Khan's medical chart and knows he's going to die soon and take the evidence with him. |
| A national election campaign due later this year is likely to prompt nationalists to renew their calls for Mr KhanÂ’s release. His arrest was widely condemned in Pakistan where many see him as a national hero, the architect of the worldÂ’s first Islamic nuclear bomb. |
His arrest was widely condemned in Pakistan where many see him as a national hero, the architect of the world’s first Islamic nuclear bomb. “Before this issue becomes part of the election debate, maybe Musharraf decided to ease the expected pressure,” said Mr Rehman.