Scientists investigated over selling nuclear secrets

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.

Abdul Qadeer Khan, long regarded as a national hero, was fired yesterday from his Cabinet-level post as a government adviser and ordered to remain at home under tightened security in the capital, Islamabad.

Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said Khan and six other scientists and military officials at a key nuclear facility – the Khan Research Laboratories, named after Khan – are suspects in the case, but any decision to prosecute would only come when the probe was complete, expected to be soon.

“At this moment it would be premature to say what to do,” Major General Sultan said. “That can be done only after the investigations are finalised.”

The move against Khan marked the first public reprisal against any suspect in the nuclear investigation, launched in November after revelations from Iran to the UN nuclear watchdog.

Pakistan has for years denied allegations of nuclear proliferation, but in recent weeks has acknowledged that some individuals may have leaked information for personal profit.

Officials say Khan and a top aide, Mohammed Farooq, have failed to account for money in their personal bank accounts.

A leading Pakistani newspaper reported today that Khan had a vast array of real estate holdings, including a hotel in Timbuktu, Mali. The News daily reported that Khan also used a military transport aircraft to ship carved wooden furniture to the hotel, which he named after his Dutch wife, Hendrina.

Because the plane couldn’t land in Mali, it touched down in Tripoli, Libya, and the furniture was taken the rest of the way by road, the News said. Also along for the ride was Farooq, an expert on centrifuges – a key piece of equipment required to enrich uranium for use in weapons.

President General Pervez Musharraf is expected to make an address to the nation about the progress of the investigation after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, which ends on Thursday.

Opposition parties have been quick to defend the scientists, particularly Khan - who gave Pakistan its nuclear deterrent against rival India and created the Islamic world’s first nuclear bomb.

Khan was pushed out of his post as head of the nuclear lab in 2001 by Musharraf and named scientific adviser to the prime minister.

Qazi Hussain Ahmed, head of the Islamic opposition coalition Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, condemned Khan’s dismissal at a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore and called for a day of protest Friday to support the scientists.

In a brief statement, the government said that Khan had “ceased to hold” the adviser post in light of the investigation “into alleged acts of nuclear proliferation by a few individuals and to facilitate those investigations in a free and objective manner.”

Khan has denied the allegations and insisted he hasn’t done anything to harm Pakistan’s interests, officials say.