Pak govt. may appeal against A.Q. Khan's release
Islamabad (IANS): Bowing to international pressure, the Pakistani government may appeal against the release of A.Q. Khan, the scientist who mentored the country's nuclear programme and who was accused of running an illegal proliferation network.
Quoting government sources, Dawn said Monday the Islamabad High Court decision last week freeing Khan from house arrest "might be challenged because of concerns expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom".
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a TV news channel on Saturday before leaving for Munich to attend an international security conference that the government reserved the right to file an appeal against the court's decision.
At the same time, Qureshi said Khan had already been relieved of his duties and had nothing to do with the country's nuclear-related policies.
"We have successfully broken the network that he had set up and today he has no say and has no access to any of the sensitive areas of Pakistan," Qureshi said.
"A.Q. Khan is history," he added.
The Islamabad High Court (IHQ) Friday declared Khan a "free man" and released him from four years of house arrest.
Khan had been put under house arrest in 2004 after confessing on state-run PTV to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea and seeking the nation's forgiveness. Then president Pervez Musharraf did "forgive" him but restricted his movements.
Khan, who was seen in public for the first time in four years in May 2008, said the confession had been handed to him by authorities and he was forced to read it on national television in the "best interest of the nation".
In an interview to IANS in May 2008, Khan claimed that he never sold nuclear technology illegally and that he should have never made a confession to that effect.
Describing himself as "an innocent man", Khan had said that Pakistan's nuclear assets and weapons were "quite safe" and they could not be taken out of the country.
The civilian government had eased the restrictions placed on the scientist in 2004.
Right from the time of Khan's confession, the US has been persistently demanding permission to question him on his alleged proliferation activities.
Pakistan has been equally consistent in denying this permission.
Commenting on Khan's release, a White House statement sought assurances that he would not get involved in nuclear proliferation again, while Britain called on the Pakistani government to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency access to the scientist.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was "very much concerned" about Khan's release because Washington believed he was involved in leaking nuclear technology and secrets.
The US State Department said that Khan's release would be "extremely regrettable" and "unfortunate".
Despite the charges against Khan, "a large number of Pakistanis still regard him as a hero for making the country a nuclear state," Dawn said.
However, security around Khan's house "remains tight with intelligence operatives in plainclothes posted around it. He cannot leave his residence and cannot meet anyone", the newspaper added.
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Last Friday, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani nuclear scientist, was freed from detention. Khan was detained under house arrest since 2004, he made a televised confession of selling nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea. He is widely regarded as the founder of Pakistan's nuclear program, and most famous as a national hero. 

Dr. Qadeer filed a petition at the Islamabad High Court against the government, to address his detention and house arrest. He was freed and now lives as a "free citizen," but the terms upon which he and the government agreed remain secret.

He sent his regards to President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, and the Interior Adviser, and thanked them for their stance opposing his detention. 

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was "very much concerned" about Khan's release. One of the spokesmen, Gordon Duguid, said Khan "remains a serious proliferation risk" and releasing him would be "extremely regrettable". Gillani has rejected such remarks, saying that Dr. Qadeer's network has been dismantled and said that he has been released under Court orders.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi tried to calm international worries. He reiterated that Khan's network had been broken up and said that the government reserves the right to appeal the court's ruling.

Khan, who is now 72 years old and has received treatment for prostate cancer, told reporters that he was finished with nuclear work and plans to devote himself to education.