Disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist makes rare trip out of house arrest

Wed, May 21 10:47 PM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) _ Pakistani authorities on Wednesday allowed Abdul Qadeer Khan, a disgraced scientist who confessed to passing nuclear technology to Iran, to make a rare trip from his home where he has been held under de facto house arrest since 2004. Khan's trip to express condolences for the death of a colleague follow suggestions from Pakistan's new government that restrictions on his movements could be eased.

However, the authorities have ruled out allowing foreign investigators to speak to him directly about still-open questions on Pakistan's nuclear program and its proliferation activities. Reached by telephone, Khan confirmed Pakistani television reports that he visited the Academy of Sciences in the capital, Islamabad, to express condolences over the death of its secretary general, Iftikhar Malik, a friend and former colleague.

"I had requested and they were kind enough to allow because it was a sad occasion," Khan told The Associated Press by telephone. "So I just condoled for the death of my old colleague and had a cup of tea with (another former academy official) Dr.

Shami and came back." A senior Pakistani official confirmed the trip.

He spoke on condition of anonymity, saying that only the Interior Ministry was authorized to speak publicly about Khan's case. Ministry officials could not be reached immediately.

Khan, who was president of the Academy of Sciences for six years, has been under guard at his villa in Islamabad since 2004, when he confessed to passing nuclear bomb technology to Iran, North Korean and Libya. In April, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi cited Khan's age he is over 70 and poor health to argue that he should be allowed to leave his Islamabad villa, meet friends and visit restaurants.

But there had been no sign of any relaxation of the restrictions before Wednesday. Khan has not spoken publicly about the events that led him to make a tearful TV confession to the leaks.

He received an official pardon from President Pervez Musharraf. Experts say questions remain about the extent of Khan's dealings and whether other Pakistani leaders were involved.

Since then, Khan has been confined to his home amid tight security. In 2006, he had surgery in the southern city of Karachi for prostate cancer.

On Wednesday, he was unwilling to discuss his situation in detail. He said his visit to the academy was his first trip out since was briefly hospitalized for low blood pressure and fever in March.

Asked if he was hopeful that authorities would allow him out more often, he said only: "Let's wait and see how things work out." ___ Associated Press writer Zarar Khan contributed to this report.

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