Dr Qadeer pardoned

President General Pervez Musharraf has pardoned Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan for his confession of passing on the nuclear secrets to Iran and Libya.
The mercy petition of the founder of atom bomb in Pakistan was discussed by the National Command Authority (NCA) which passed its recommendations to the federal Cabinet, which met here on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and referred it to President Musharraf.
Addressing a crowded press conference at the Army House Auditorium here, the president announced that he has accepted the cabinet suggestion and pardoned Dr Qadeer.
He is a free man, but he is not allowed to go abroad, the president told a questioner.
In his 90-minute press conference, the president spoke of the grim future misperceptions about Pakistan and dealt at length with the charge on Pakistan being a source of nuclear proliferation, which could bring dire consequences from the international community in the form of economic sanctions and even use of force in dismantling it.
He, however, assured the nation that the country's goal of minimum deterrence would be fully protected. Rather in the four years of the present government, the goal of minimum deterrence has been fortified.
The president also gave tidings that in missile technology too, Pakistan was reaching a goal post. In a month or so, Pakistan would launch Shaheen II missile having a reach of 2000km.
The president admonished the media and politicians for being in sync with such foreign detractors of the country, which he said, was at a most critical phase of its history.
Choosing to come out fully on misperception of nuclear proliferation, the president gave a detailed narration of the birth of the atom bomb following Indian atomic blast of 1974, the role of the national hero A.Q. Khan in developing nuclear bomb since 1976, during the 80's and 90's as well as four years of his government in consolidating the control infrastructure.
Of the people accused of leakage of nuclear secrets- seven are scientists, three army officers and one technician-only the case of Dr Qadeer has been finalised and an FIR has been registered against him on Wednesday.
Sources said that charges against others were under investigation.
Giving reasons for accepting the mercy petition, the president emphatically said that Dr A.Q. Khan was our national hero and he would remain so. But he added, Dr Qadeer is also a human being, and like all others he had his weaknesses.
In Pakistan, the media like to paint a hero larger than life, without realising that to err is also human.
He was punished because according to the president's argument, nation has to make distinction between overall national interest and the guilt of a hero. "I have to protect my country and protect its honour and dignity" or invite wrath of international community already out to pounce on Pakistan's nuclear deterrent declaring it to be a rogue state.
Negating the allegations of the critics that Pakistan nuclear programme is being rolled back under foreign pressure, the president reiterated that the nuclear programme was in safe hands, there was no pressure from any side to roll it back and that being a sovereign state Pakistan would not roll it back.
He said we would be the last to surrender to any foreign pressure. "I will not be there to submit," he said.
The president was sharply critical of press reports, TV pseudo intellectuals, and politicians attacking the government on the nuclear issue.
Quoting from the headlines, he said that they were endorsing the negative perceptions about the country, almost inviting them to take action against their own country.
He said it was in the national interest not to have published anything about such matters. First of all these misperceptions were utterly wrong and even if these were right, the national interest demands not to publish them.
Stressing repeatedly the importance of keeping national interest atop of every thing else, he referred to the action of some Muslim countries, which spilled the beans for all to see. There is a moral in this episode that national interest should come first.
Despite the action, the president said that Dr A.Q. Khan is a national hero. He is the father of the nuclear deterrence for Pakistan and this reality one cannot efface.
To a question if Pakistan would hand over the documents showing Dr Qadeer's involvement to the international agency or go for a full independent inquiry, President Musharraf responded in an emphatic no. Pakistan is an independent and sovereign country. Pakistan has done its inquiry in this case and would not submit to any pressure from anyone.
To another question about the fate of others involved in proliferation, President Musharraf said that the family members of the other accused know what their dear ones had been doing. It is the politicians who have been inciting them on agitation.
The relatives should have forewarned the accused that they were staking the country's future. The government would decide on the issue after completing the investigation.
About the ignorance of the security agencies regarding the misdoing of the accused, the president said that it was easy to take out the design. Moreover, it was difficult to question the head of the institution.
Asked if Japan or other countries may impose economic sanctions, the president said that Pakistan has excellent relations with all the countries, including India, Russia and others. They do realise that it was an act of an individual and the government was not involved in it.
While narrating the history of Pakistan's nuclear programme, the president gratefully acknowledged the pioneering role of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. After Indian nuclear blast in 1974, Pakistan was in great hurry to get rid of the disequilibrium with India. When Dr Qadeer came back to Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Bhutto who assigned the task of nuclear bomb to him.
"I give full credit to Z.A. Bhutto for initiating the nuclear programme for the country."
To another question about rollback during Benazir's time, the president said she had rolled back the enrichment of fuel from 95 percent to only 5 percent.
APP adds: Referring to the four perceptions about Pakistan, he said Pakistan has to let the world know that we are a moderate nation, are against the Taleban and our society is tolerant.
Pakistan, he said, wanted a peaceful resolution of the lingering occupied Kashmir dispute with India.
On occupied Kashmir, he referred to his four-step approach, including resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan, accepting the centrality of occupied Kashmir dispute, eliminating what was unacceptable to Pakistan, India and Kashmiris and then go for a solution of the issue.
He said discussing solutions of occupied Kashmir at this stage would be premature as Pakistan and India were to open dialogue on bilateral disputes on February 16-18.
"We must move forward on occupied Kashmir and we need to show resolve, flexibility and boldness when we reach the stage of finding out a solution to the issue," he said.
However, President Musharraf said the flexibility has to come from both the sides and it would not be unilateral from Pakistan.
Musharraf favoured the formation of a committee to address the issue between the two countries.
He said Pakistan believed that whatever was happening in occupied Kashmir was freedom struggle and not terrorism.
Musharraf told a questioner that Japan understands Pakistan's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and Tokyo would not stop its aid to the country. Japan, he said, knew that Pakistan has conducted investigation into allegation against the scientists.
He said the security of all the scientific organisations was centralised in 2000, soon after the president assumed the office of the Chief Executive in late 1999.
A system of checks and balances in the form of financial control and audits was put in place, he said.
Earlier, The Federal Cabinet reviewed the mercy petition of Dr A.Q. Khan, and decided to forward its recommendations to President Pervez Musharraf to pardon the scientist.
The petition was received by the Cabinet from the National Command Authority (NCA) after the President apprised the body of Dr Khan's confession of leaking nuclear technology to other countries and his plea for clemency.
The Cabinet also expressed its solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir, and felt that the peace process initiated between India and Pakistan following the Musharraf-Vajpayee talks would lead to resolution of all outstanding disputes between the two neighbouring countries, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Cabinet expressed its satisfaction that as a result of cease-fire the Kashmiris on both the sides of the LoC have observed Eid in tranquillity and calm, and relatives and friends living on both the sides of the River Neelum have exchanged presents and gifts on the occasion.
In a separate development, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that Dr A.Q. Khan accepted the responsibility of nuclear proliferation in "greater national interest". He absolved the scientist of even a penny worth of corruption.
Shujaat said Dr Khan did not give any "written statement" to the investigators, nor did his daughter take any video-taped message of her father on her visit abroad.
The PML chief interpreted the "good faith", the words used by Dr Khan in his confessional statement, meant that whatever he did it was in the national interest, warning that Europe and United States too could be charged of the same offence. "But we are being pressured because we are weak", he added.