Posted on 12/27/2003 10:25:01 AM PST by Pan_Yans Wife
Pakistan has admitted for the first time that it may have been the source of sensitive nuclear know-how and equipment for Iran's uranium-enrichment program, a sophisticated and extensive project that has been kept secret for 18 years.
The admission from the Government in Islamabad on Tuesday followed weeks of denial of any involvement in the Iranian projects.
It followed Pakistan's disclosure that it was questioning Abdul Qadeer Khan - the man who masterminded Pakistan's acquisition of nuclear weapons - about possible links with Iran.
Pakistan is under intense pressure from Western countries and from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, to clarify its suspected role in supplying Iran with nuclear information and technology.
The Foreign Ministry in Islamabad continued to deny that Pakistan had had any role in nuclear proliferation, but conceded that some of its nuclear experts might have acted out of "ambition or greed" in supplying nuclear technology.
In recent weeks, Pakistan has detained three prominent nuclear scientists for questioning, and on Monday it announced it was also "debriefing" Mr Khan, who was removed as the head of the country's main nuclear laboratory three years ago under pressure from Washington.
[The Age]:In recent weeks, Pakistan has detained three prominent nuclear scientists for questioning, and on Monday it announced it was also "debriefing" Mr Khan, who was removed as the head of the country's main nuclear laboratory three years ago under pressure from Washington.
The Islamists in Pakistan know what is going on. They've tried to assassinate Musharraf at least two times -- all after Musharraf went after the nuclear scientists.
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