ISLAMABAD, 17 February 2004 — The disgraced architect of Pakistan’s nuclear program Abdul Qadeer Khan is suffering from acute hypertension, high blood pressure, depression and sleeplessness, his doctor said yesterday.

Speaking amid reports Khan had suffered a heart attack, Dr. Shafiqur Rehman told AFP he last visited the scientist at his residence in the last week of January when he found him in “poor health.”

“He has a history of hypertension and I had been visiting him regularly until I was stopped by the authorities on Feb. 4,” the doctor said.

Khan is at the center of a nuclear proliferation scandal and has been blamed by Pakistani authorities for selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

Dr. Shafiqur Rehman’s father Sajawal Khan, a retired army brigadier, was civil engineer at the country’s uranium enrichment facility — Khan Research Laboratories — when he was detained in January in an investigation into the nuclear leaks.

Abdul Qadeer Khan publicly confessed on Feb. 4 to transferring nuclear technology abroad and begged for clemency, after which President Pervez Musharraf gave him a conditional pardon.

Since then authorities have imposed strict restrictions on his movement and tightened security around his residence in Islamabad.

Shafiqur Rehman said he was not aware of Khan suffering a heart attack, as reported by the leading Pakistani English newspaper Dawn yesterday.

The report, which was promptly denied by the government, quoted sources at the Khan Research Laboratories hospital as saying that a heart specialist and a cardiac machine were secretly sent to Khan’s house on Feb. 8. The report said Khan has “suffered a heart attack” and his condition was “stated to be critical” when he was treated.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry termed the report baseless saying Khan was in good health.

“This is fabrication. He is in good health and the report that he suffered heart attack is baseless,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said.

Dr. Shafiqur Rehman said he had learned that a nurse was attending to Khan at his home but no doctor had been sent there. “Last week I asked the authorities to allow me to check up on Khan in the presence of a magistrate but my request was refused.” he said.

Officials have said the investigations into the proliferation scandal were continuing with seven other associates of Khan under detention.

Pakistan launched an investigation into its nuclear scientists in November after it received a letter from International Atomic Energy Agency about information leaks to other countries.

Relatives of the six detained officials demanded the families be allowed to meet the detainees.

“They (detainees) should be given basic rights, they should be allowed medical facility and their whereabouts told to their families so they can meet them,” said Hassamul Haq, the head of a committee seeking release of Khan as well as other scientists.

He also said Qadeer Khan was in “bad health.”

Pakistan has charged the six detainees of “directly or indirectly passing onto foreign countries and individuals secret codes, nuclear materials, substances, machinery, equipment, components, information, documents, sketches, plans, models, articles and notes.”

Hassamul Haq at a news conference denied Khan or any of the scientists were involved in proliferation and charged the United States with orchestrating a scheme to attack Pakistan.

He argued that if any proliferation took place it would not have been possible without the connivance of the Pakistani military.

“A general (President Pervez Musharraf) has saved his fellow generals and put the loop on the neck of a civilian (Khan),” Hassam alleged.