Two Pakistani former nuclear scientists under investigation for their ties to al-Qaeda were released Saturday in time for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, although reports conflicted on the details of their release.

Muhammad Asim Mehmood, son of Sultan Bashiru-din Mehmood, one of the detained scientists, said yesterday that Mehmood and Chaudry Abdul Majid, another scientist, had been released and declared innocent, the New York Times reported today.  According to previous reports, Pakistani authorities had already released the scientists once after their original detention and then detained them again for further questioning last month (see GSN, Nov. 26).

Pakistani authorities were unavailable for comment, according to the Times, and Muhammad Asim Mehmood said he did not know if U.S. authorities had been involved in the release and could not comment on any U.S. involvement in the scientists’ interrogation.  The scientists must report any of their movements outside Islamabad and are not allowed to speak to the media, the son said.

Mehmood said his father had met with Osama bin Laden in August (see GSN, Dec. 12) but only to ask bin Laden for funding for a university in Kabul.

“It’s true that he met with Osama,” he said, “but my father wanted to discuss setting up a polytechnic university.  He thought Osama might be the financier for it.”  U.S. authorities have said no evidence existed (see GSN, Dec. 10) to indicate the scientists provided useful nuclear weapons information to bin Laden (Douglas Frantz, New York Times, Dec. 17).

The Washington Post reported the release slightly differently.  Pakistani officials said the two scientists were released to spend Eid al-Fitr with their families, according to the Post.  “They have promised to return back to us soon after the Eid holidays,” said a Pakistani official.  They were not allowed to leave Islamabad, the Post reported.

The scientists said last month they had answered bin Laden’s technical questions about constructing weapons of mass destruction, Pakistani officials said, adding that the scientists’ information did not help advance any al-Qaeda weapons programs.  “The probe against these scientists is by no means over, but we are satisfied that their contact with bin Laden didn’t result in any improvement in al-Qaeda’s firepower,” said a Pakistani intelligence official (Kamran Khan, Washington Post, Dec. 16).

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