Pakistan has formally arrested five scientists and officials from its top nuclear facility amid a probe into the alleged transfer of technology to other countries, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
The five, arrested under Pakistan's security law, had been detained for about three months for interrogation and were formally arrested on Wednesday, Interior Ministry spokesman Rauf Chaudhry told AFP.
"They include nuclear scientists and administrators belonging to the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL)," he said.
The arrests followed a dramatic televised admission by former KRL chief Abdul Qadeer Khan on Wednesday that he had passed on Pakistan's nuclear know-how.
The detainees included senior KRL scientists Mohammad Farooq and Nazir Ahmed, and administrators retired brigadier Tajwar Khan and former brigadier Malik Sajawal, Chaudhry said.
Khan's principal staff officer, retired Major Islam ul Haq, was also arrested, he said.
He did not say what charges the five faced.