Source: International Herald Tribune

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Dozens of Islamists marked the 10th anniversary of Pakistan’s nuclear test on Wednesday by rallying for an end to the house arrest of the man considered the father of the country’s bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan.

The nuclear scientist was detained in 2004 after admitting to passing nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Though reviled in the West, Khan enjoys national hero status in Pakistan, where he is credited for making it the world’s only Islamic nuclear power.

President Pervez Musharraf pardoned Khan, who insisted no other senior officials knew of his nuclear smuggling activities. But only after years of house arrest at his villa in Islamabad have authorities recently begun to ease some of the restrictions on his movements.

Earlier this month, authorities let him visit the Academy of Sciences to express condolences for the death of a former colleague. Khan has said he expects to travel soon to the southern city of Karachi to see his brother and sister.

On Wednesday, about 40 Islamists gathered near Khan’s house in the capital and demanded his release. They also called for him to replace Pervez Musharraf as president.

“Abdul Qadeer Khan is the symbol of Pakistan’s honor, and God willing, he will become the president of Pakistan,” said Mian Aslam, a former lawmaker from an Islamist party.

Aslam said he wanted to meet with Khan to congratulate him on the anniversary of the nuclear tests, but police didn’t allow it.

He also claimed America and Britain had sought control of the delivery system for Pakistani nuclear weapons, insisting “we will never let it happen.”

Pakistan became a declared nuclear power in May 28, 1998 when it tested nuclear devices in response to underground tests by its longtime rival and neighbor India.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was in power then, and experts have said many questions remain about Khan’s dealings and whether other officials were involved.

Sharif’s party is now part of Pakistan’s ruling coalition and has begun calling for Khan’s freedom. On Wednesday, several hundred Sharif supporters rallied in the cities of Lahore and Islamabad, many of them holding pictures of Khan.

The government, meanwhile, said the 1998 test marked a “historic day in the nation’s quest for security.”

Pakistan has since “taken its responsibilities as a nuclear weapon state seriously,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It didn’t mention Khan, but noted that authorities had tightened export controls.

Pakistan also has introduced an “elaborate” command and control system for its nuclear weapons, it said.

In April, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi cited Khan’s age — he is over 70 — and poor health to argue that he should be allowed to leave his home more often. In 2006, Khan had an operation in Karachi for prostate cancer.

Still, Qureshi said Khan would continue to live under tight security and ruled out allowing foreign investigators to question him directly.

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Tags: Abdul Qadeer Khan, Islamists, nuclear weapons