The founder of Pakistan’s nuclear programme asked President General Pervez Musharraf for forgiveness today for spreading weapons secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, the government said.

Seven suspects, including the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, remain under investigation for allegedly selling nuclear secrets to Iran and Libya, and a decision on whether to put them on trial will only be made when the probe is complete, an official said.

PAKISTAN has expanded its investigation of the country’s premier nuclear weapons laboratory, detaining as many as seven scientists and administrators for questioning, officials said yesterday.

PAKISTAN yesterday admitted scientists involved in its atom bomb program may have been driven by “personal ambition or greed” to export technology to Iran, but added that the government had no part in any such deals.