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AQ Khan suffers heart attack, condition critical Press Trust of India Islamabad, February 16 Pakistan's top scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, involved in clandestine nuclear sales to "rogue states", has reportedly suffered a heart attack. "Dr Khan is under treatment at his residence and his condition is stated to be critical," a local daily quoted officials of the of the hospital of the country's premier nuclear installation, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) formerly headed by Khan, as saying. It said in view of his "poor cardiac" condition, a heart specialist along with a cardiac machine was "secretly" sent to the nuclear scientist's...

Abdul Qadeer Khan under 'house arrest' STANDFIRST, Jan 31: Investigators have uncovered a sophisticated black market in components with Islamabad at its centre. While on a tour of eight Asian countries in the summer of 2002, Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, arrived in Islamabad with a special request. Mr Powell asked President, General Pervez Musharraf, to arrest Abdul Qadeer Khan, the mastermind of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme and a hero in the country. He said Mr Khan needed to be questioned over the alleged secret trading of Pakistan's nuclear technology to North Korea and he had evidence. An...

WASHINGTON: Under tremendous pressure from the United States, Islamabad’s ruling dispensation appears to be zeroing in on Pakistan’s national hero, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, as the source of nuclear proliferation. Several people, perhaps up to 25, included some of Khan’s closest aides, have been detained in recent days. Some of them have been dragged out of their homes kicking and screaming, according to family members who have spoken to the Pakistani media. Khan himself has been treated more circumspectly, but he has also been questioned exhaustively and further steps against him seem imminent. The military government already seems to be...

ISLAMABAD : Pakistan 's top nuclear scientist Abdul Qadir Khan, currently being questioned for allegedly assisting Iran in its nuclear programme, has denied the charges even as the government publicly assured him of support to tide over the crisis. Khan, known as the father of Pakistan 's nuclear bomb, told a private TV channel last night that he was being "targeted" internationally because he was responsible for his country equipping itself with nuclear bombs and missiles. Denying that he had any role in the Iranian or Libyan nuclear programmes as alleged by the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA), Khan told...

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...

Abdul Qadeer Khan, who has been questioned in Pakistan over possible transfers of nuclear technology to Iran, is regarded as a national hero for helping his country become a nuclear state. Dr Khan played the key role in developing Pakistan's nuclear military capability, which culminated in successful tests in May 1998. Coming shortly after similar tests by India, Dr Khan's work helped seal Pakistan's place as the world's seventh nuclear power and sparked national jubilation. In March 2001 he was promoted to the inner circle of the country's military leadership as special science and technology adviser to President Pervez Musharraf....

A lengthy investigation of the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, by American and European intelligence agencies and international nuclear inspectors has forced Pakistani officials to question his aides and openly confront evidence that the country was the source of crucial technology to enrich uranium for Iran, North Korea and possibly other nations. Until the past few weeks, Pakistani officials had denied evidence that the A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories, named for the man considered a national hero, had ever been a source of weapons technology to countries aspiring to acquire fissile material. Now they are backing away...

Evidence discovered in a probe of Iran's secret nuclear program points overwhelmingly to Pakistan as the source of crucial technology that put Iran on a fast track toward becoming a nuclear weapons power, according to U.S. and European officials familiar with the investigation. The serious nature of the discoveries prompted a decision by Pakistan two weeks ago to detain three of its top nuclear scientists for several days of questioning, with U.S. intelligence experts allowed to assist, the officials said. The scientists have not been charged with any crime, and Pakistan continues to insist that it never wittingly provided nuclear...

Two scientists at Pakistan's top nuclear laboratory have been taken into custody for questioning, sources said Thursday. The nuclear scientists at the Khan Research Laboratories were being interrogated after complaints were made against them, said a government official and two Pakistanis affiliated with the country's nuclear programs. All three spoke on condition of anonymity. Confirming reports in three Pakistani newspapers Thursday, the sources identified the two detained men as Yasin Chohan and Mohammad Farooq, the former director general at the facility. Farooq also is a former aide to the founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who had...

Militant group accuses Shi'ites, Iran of murder By Zeeshan Haider MSNBC ISLAMABAD, Oct. 9 — The successor to a radical Pakistani Sunni Muslim militant leader slain by gunmen this week blamed rival Shi'ite leaders and Iran for his death and vowed to campaign against the country's minority Shi'ite community. Maulana Azam Tariq, head of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), was killed in a hail of bullets on Monday on the outskirts of Islamabad, stoking fears that a new wave of sectarian violence could erupt. The murder followed a recent wave of sectarian killings in the country, including a shooting spree...

Pakistan denies aiding Iran nuclear weapons drive World News Aug 5, 2003 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Tuesday denied a U.S. newspaper report this week which said it shared expertise with Iran that could help Tehran develop nuclear weapons. A statement from the Foreign Ministry did not name the report, but the Los Angeles Times said on Monday Iran appeared to be in the late stages of building a nuclear bomb and had sought help from scientists from countries including Pakistan. The story cited a confidential report by the French government in May it said concluded Iran was "surprisingly close" to...