Government has once again put renowned nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan under house arrest and security around his Banni Gala residence has increased and people were stopped to meet the scientist. Dr Khan, who was declared a 'free citizen' by Islamabad High Court on Friday after five years of house arrest, was again put under house arrest as government enhanced security around his residence and asked him not to meet media or any other person.
Heavy contingents of police and other law enforcement agencies were deployed around the residence of nuclear scientist, besides, blockades were also erected to bar people from reaching his residence. There was no official statement from any corner of the government regarding house arrest of the nuclear scientist.
But sources in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration, on condition of anonymity told this scribe that security was enhanced around the residence of Dr Khan and law enforcement agencies were directed to stop Dr Khan from movement and not to allow people to visit him.
When Business Recorder contacted the high officials in Interior Ministry to know the present status of Dr Khan no one was available to give details on the issue. It is pertinent to note here that after his release after five years' detention (house arrest) Dr Khan, who was very happy over his release, said that Pakistan is an atomic power and this fact is hard to digest for the enemies of the country. "Now is the time to maintain unity, may Allah Almighty keep Pakistan safe from harm," he said.
A team of doctors conducted medical examination of Dr Khan at his residence and advised him to take rest as he was suffering from high blood pressure. People largely celebrated the release of the scientist, who built a nuclear devise, a main deterrent for Pakistan. They kept visiting Dr Khan's residence with sweets and flowers, who were looking pleasant after seeing smiling face of the most popular nuclear scientist.
Meanwhile, analysts were of the view that Dr Khan was again detained under heavy pressure from United States of America, which has strongly resisted the release of Dr Khan and US officials categorically stated that the US Congress will weigh Pakistan's decision to release nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan when it next considers US aid to Islamabad.
Democratic Representative Howard Berman, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the release of Dr Khan after five years effectively under house arrest as 'very alarming'. He said that the US officials have been prevented from interviewing Khan to try to determine the extent of the damage he has done to world stability. They said that Government has failed to resist the American pressure and decided to detain Dr Khan once again, after two days of his release.