Islamabad, September 03: Pakistan today dismissed US concerns about disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan posing a proliferation risk as “baseless”.
Though Khan’s case is “sub-judice”, concerns expressed by the US regarding nuclear proliferation are “uncalled for and baseless,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a weekly news briefing.
Pakistan’s export controls are as comprehensive and effective as those of any other nuclear weapon state, he said in response to a question about the concerns expressed by the US after a Pakistani court recently lifted restrictions imposed on Khan’s movements.
“The government of Pakistan is cognisant of its responsibilities in this regard,” Basit said.
Days after a single-judge bench of the Lahore High Court suspended the security protocol assigned to Khan by the Pakistan government, a two-judge bench yesterday restored the security arrangements.
The next hearing of Khan’s petition challenging the security arrangements is scheduled for September 15.
Khan spent five years in house arrest since 2004 after he admitted to operating a clandestine proliferation network that supplied nuclear secrets to countries like Iran and North Korea. He later retracted his remarks. In February, a court ruling declared him a free man.
—Agencies