Musharraf Defends Pardon of Top Nuclear Scientist

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf yesterday defended his decision to pardon top nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan after Khan admitted to providing nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea (see GSN, Feb. 6).

“The dilemma is: he’s a great man, he’s a hero, and he’s a hero of every individual in the street,” Musharraf said in an interview with NBC News. “Yet he has done something which could bring harm to the nation. Now how do I deal with it?  We had to handle it very carefully,” Musharraf said (Sify.com, Feb. 9).

In addition to pardoning Khan, Musharraf said last week the scientist would be allowed to retain his financial gains from the illicit nuclear transfers.

“He can keep his money,” Musharraf said. “We wanted the bomb in the national interest and so you have to ask yourself whether you act against the person who enabled you to get the bomb,” he added (Schofield/Wastell, London Sunday Telegraph, Feb. 8).

Both U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday welcomed the exposure of the nuclear proliferation network run by Khan, but deferred to Musharraf on the wisdom of pardoning Khan without first trying him.

Powell called it “a remarkable success” that Kahn — the “biggest” proliferator — is out of action. “We don’t have to worry about proliferation from Mr. A.Q. Khan or his network,” he said, “This is a success for the international community, for those of us who have been pressing all governments to go after these kinds of proliferators. And I’m pleased that President Musharraf realized that he had to do something about this network.”

“I expect to be talking to President Musharraf over the next several days to make sure that there is a full understanding of what the A.Q. Khan network has done over the years so that there are no remnants of it left, and then there’s no possibility of further proliferating activities coming out of that network,” added Powell.

Annan took a less optimistic, longer view. “I think it indicates that proliferation is alive and that there has been quite a lot of black market activities that we have not been aware of,” said Annan. Repeating International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei’s contention that the Khan network “is the tip of the iceberg,” he said the IAEA “is going to do as much as possible to discover what other loopholes exist. But of course, he cannot do it alone.  He needs support, and exchange of information from governments who have them, for all of us to try and take steps to ensure that we contain the problem or nip it before it spreads.”

Annan and Powell were speaking to journalists separately during a pledging conference for Liberia on Friday.

As to the pardon, Powell said Musharraf “felt it was appropriate for him to do and he has explained his position thoroughly.” Annan said, “Obviously the president of the country has to manage his own national situation, but what is important is the commitment that they are going to plug the loopholes and deal with everyone involved severely” (Jim Wurst, Global Security Newswire, Feb 9).

In a telephone conversation with Powell Saturday, Musharraf said Pakistan would work to prevent any further leaks of nuclear technology, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said.

“President Musharraf conveyed Pakistan’s firm resolve that such activity will never happen in future,” Khan said. 

According to Khan, Musharraf told Powell that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program was now “under firm control” of the National Command Authority, which controls Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.

“Powell conveyed U.S. appreciation of the efforts made by Pakistan and the manner in which it handled the investigation,” Khan said.

A separate Pakistani government statement said Powell was set to visit Pakistan “soon” for further talks on the nuclear transfer investigation (Agence France-Presse/Channel News Asia, Feb. 8).

The United States does not plan to sanction Pakistan over Khan’s activities, nor will it press for an investigation into the possible role of the military in any nuclear transfers, U.S. officials said.

“Our goal is not to denounce people, our goal is not to jail people, our goal is to get results,” said a senior Bush administration official. “If we can help that happen by leaving it to (Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf) and not trying to dictate from Washington what he has to do, then that’s what we’re going to do,” the official said.

“It’s just another case where you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar,” the senior administration official said. “And there’s a lot of flies to be caught in Pakistan,” the official said.

Some nonproliferation experts, though, have criticized Pakistan and the United States for letting Khan escape punishment for his activities.

“These guys aren’t even suffering the penalties you would get from smuggling marijuana,” said Joseph Cirincione, a nonproliferation specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Cirincione accused the Bush administration of using a double standard for U.S. ally Pakistan and enemies Iraq and North Korea.

“It’s terrible that North Korea would export Scud (missile) technology, but it’s a forgivable offense if Pakistan exports nuclear bomb technology to half the developing world,” he said (Sonni Efron, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 7).

Meanwhile, Pakistani officials have said their investigation into Khan’s activities was prompted by information received by U.S. intelligence, according to CNN.com.

During a visit to Pakistan last October, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage provided Musharraf with CIA information on Khan’s activities, officials said. The information included details of Khan’s travels abroad, meetings with middlemen and bank accounts, they said.

Armitage asked Musharraf to conduct his own investigation and to move quickly against Khan, or else risk jeopardizing Pakistan’s relationship with the United States, the officials said (Mike Chinoy, CNN.com, Feb. 9).

One Pakistani official said Musharraf was threatened with possible sanctions if he did not act, according to the London Telegraph.

“Both the U.S. government and the IAEA separately reminded Pakistan that its failure to pin the responsibility of proliferation activities might lead to sanctions by the U.S. and the United Nations,” the official said (David Blair, London Telegraph, Feb. 9).

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