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Pakistan says pardon to Dr. Khan was conditional

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, April 14, IRNA -- The government of Pakistan on Wednesday 
said that the pardon granted to senior nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul 
Qadeer Khan was conditional on his continued cooperation with the 
nuclear proliferation investigation. 
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri told the Senate in 
response to an opposition adjournment motion that the scientist was 
not given a blanket pardon. Rather, it was conditional on his 
cooperation with the authorities probing the issue of nuclear 
proliferation. 
He rejected the opposition allegation that the government reviewed
its decision of blanket pardon after receiving a telephone call from 
US Secretary of State Colin Powell. 
"The government acts on its own, keeping in view the national 
interests. There is no question of taking dictation from abroad, 
particularly the United States," the minister said. 
He also made it clear that action against the nuclear scientist 
was taken after Islamabad found direct evidence of his involvement in 
nuclear proliferation abroad. 
The minister, also referring to the opposition`s criticism that 
the government took dictation from the US and International Atomic 
Energy Agency (IAEA), replied: "We take decisions on our own, but we 
being a member of the IAEA, have obligations too." 
The National Command Authority, he pointed out, had taken up the 
case after receiving credible evidence and had also invited the 
attorney general to the meeting who advised that pardon could be 
given to Dr. Khan even before going to court. 
According to the official, the pardon granted to Dr. Khan was 
limited to the actions mentioned in the First Information Report. 
Colin Powell`s statement after President General Pervez Musharraf 
granted pardon created ripples here with people saying the pardon was 
confined to this particular case and was conditional. 
Opposition senators contended that after the US intervention, the 
Foreign Office in two days issued as many statements stressing that 
the pardon was conditional and not a blanket one. 
President Musharraf, during the news conference wherein he 
announced the pardon, never made any mention of the pardon being 
conditional, they said. 
MHA/TSH/LS/210 
End