Two Arms Scientists Aided Iran, Libya
January 28, 2004
The Washington Post
Kamran Khan
KARACHI, Pakistan -- Pakistani investigators have concluded that two senior nuclear scientists used a network of middlemen operating a black market to supply nuclear weapons technology to Iran and Libya, according to three senior Pakistani intelligence officials.
Abdul Qadeer Khan, considered the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, and Mohammed Farooq provided the help--including blueprints for equipment used to enrich uranium--both directly and through a black market based in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, the officials said.
The middlemen, from South Africa, Germany, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, allegedly also offered the Pakistani scientists' services to Syria and Iraq. But the deals apparently never materialized, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In return for the scientists' assistance in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Iran channeled millions of dollars to foreign bank accounts allegedly controlled by the two men, one of whom, Khan, amassed large real estate holdings in Pakistan and Dubai, the officials said. Khan and Farooq were longtime colleagues at the country's premier nuclear weapons laboratory, A.Q. Khan Research Laboratories, which is named for Khan.
The officials said the findings arose from an investigation being conducted by the Pakistani military's Inter-Services Intelligence agency. The probe, which officials say is nearing completion, was begun after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) presented Pakistani officials late last year with evidence that Pakistani technology appeared to have played a role in the clandestine nuclear weapons programs of both Iran and Libya.
As a result of the probe, Khan has been confined to his house in an elite neighborhood in Islamabad, one of the officials said, and Farooq has been in detention since late November. Telephone calls to Khan's home seeking comment went unanswered on Tuesday.
In addition to concerns raised by the IAEA, U.S. intelligence officials have said they believe North Korea obtained uranium-enrichment technology and equipment from Pakistan in exchange for missiles. Pakistan is one of a handful of countries that remain outside the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and technically is not bound by many of the international restrictions on the export of nuclear technology.
Pakistan first tested a nuclear device on its own soil in 1998, the culmination of decades of research by Khan and other scientists as part of a program largely overseen by the Pakistani military. A variety of high-ranking military officials ``looked the other way as insiders volunteered information about all sorts of problems in the highest echelon of the KRL bureaucracy,'' said one of the three officials, referring to Khan Research Laboratories.
Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, acknowledged last week that some of Pakistan's nuclear scientists appeared to have sold their expertise abroad. Musharraf and other officials have said the scientists acted without authorization and have vowed to take action against those involved. That, however, could provoke a political backlash in Pakistan, where many people regard Khan and his colleagues as national heroes.
``To show its commitment and international responsibility to nuclear nonproliferation, Pakistan has assured the IAEA of strong legal action against the culprits,'' said one of the three officials.
Although government officials assert that the nuclear program is now under tight control, they acknowledge that it has suffered from lax security in the past, when Khan and other senior scientists were given vast resources and freedom from outside scrutiny that may have contributed to the leaking of nuclear secrets.
``It was a no-questions-asked regime for the KRL,'' said a nuclear scientist who spent 30 years in the country's nuclear program. ``Dr. Khan was never supposed to answer or explain his frequent foreign trips. He spent billions of dollars without any significant financial oversight.''
Khan was chairman of the laboratory until 2001, when he was dismissed by Musharraf, at least partly because of concerns about financial improprieties at the lab, officials said.
One of the officials involved in the current investigation said that while the ``money trail'' provides some of the evidence against Khan and Farooq, the most damaging information was given by Iran and Libya to the IAEA, which then passed it along to Pakistani authorities.
``The governments of Iran and Libya have exposed the racket,'' one of the officials said. ``They made no attempt to hide their sources, as if they wanted to settle score with Pakistani scientists.''
A senior official close to the Pakistani president said that the information provided by the IAEA was so specific and incriminating that Musharraf decided to personally confront Khan in the last week of November. ``For the first time ever, I saw tears in the eyes of the president, who thought that it was the worst-ever breach of the nation's trust,'' recalled the aide.
Musharraf is eager to pursue charges against the scientist, but some advisers are urging a milder punishment, such as dismissing Khan from his post as an adviser to the government on nuclear issues, the official added.
Khan has subsequently been questioned by Lt. Gen. Ehsanul Haq, chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, and Lt. Gen. Khalid Kidwai, commander of the Strategic Planning and Development Cell, which was created several years ago to oversee nuclear security in Pakistan.
Pakistani investigators have determined that in addition to selling technology through black-market intermediaries, Khan also provided direct help to Iranian nuclear scientists by giving them blueprints for high-speed centrifuges used to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs, and the names of clandestine suppliers for centrifuge parts, officials said. Farooq, an engineer with expertise in centrifuges, helped facilitate Khan's efforts during several trips to Iran, the officials said.
Khan was well-compensated for his work in behalf of the Iranians, the officials said. He purchased houses for his children and spent considerable sums to organize seminars, distribute posters and publish books aimed at lauding his achievements in the country's nuclear program, officials said.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=24&ID=143668&r=0Iran students urge poll boycott
Angry MPs are holding a sit-in against the ban in parliament
Iran's main pro-democracy student group has called for a national boycott of next month's parliamentary elections.
It said a mass ban of reformists from standing meant there was no chance of a free ballot, according to a statement carried by the state Irna news agency.
The Office to Consolidate Unity also urged reformist MPs to continue their protests against the poll blacklist.
Reformists oppose the conservative Guardians Council's ballot ban on more than 3,000 candidates.
"The reason why people are so disillusioned is because of the existence of powerful bodies which in the end render parliament powerless," the group said in its statement.
Even if one person has been disqualified unfairly, as president, I will defend his right
President Mohammad Khatami
It said the only way out of the political deadlock is to hold a referendum on the future of the Islamic republic.
The BBC's correspondent in Tehran says up until now the student movement, historically a powerful political voice in Iran, has kept a low profile in this crisis.
In the past they have accused the reformists of failing to live up to their promises.
Resignations
President Mohammad Khatami, himself a reformist, says he still believes the row can be resolved but warned he would not accept even a single "unfair" disqualification.
"Even if one person has been disqualified unfairly, as president, I will defend his right," Mr Khatami told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The president said ministers and vice-presidents had submitted their resignations in protest over the mass disqualifications.
But with negotiations continuing, he said he "will not accept resignations of any kind".
The 12-member Guardians Council has disqualified more than a third of the 8,200 people - including more than 80 sitting MPs - who applied to run in the 20 February elections.
So far it has reinstated about 700 of the disqualified candidates, after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered a review.
It is still examining appeals and is due to announce its final decision on the others on 30 January
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3437391.stm