ISLAMABAD, 6 June 2004 — The government will table a bill in the National Assembly on Monday that could empower it to hand over accused nuclear scientists to federal agencies. The accused scientists face up to 14 years in jail, fines of up to 5 million rupees and seizure of all assets and properties if found guilty of exporting nuclear know-how.
The bill has been prepared by the Foreign Ministry in the light of serious concerns expressed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United States. Pakistani nuclear scientists face accusations of involvement in the illegal export of nuclear material and technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
The bill, which was to be tabled in the National Assembly on Friday, will now be referred to the standing committee of the assembly for examination on Monday.
Although, President Pervez Musharraf pardoned Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan after his admission of involvement in the sale of nuclear secrets to other countries, the government made it clear on several occasions that it was a “conditional pardon.”
The bill could decide the fate of Khan and other nuclear scientists, some of whom are currently in the custody of government agencies. The bill has been named Export Control on Goods, Technologies, Material and Equipment Related to Nuclear and Biological Weapons and Their Delivery Systems. The purpose of the bill is to safeguard national security and foreign policy objectives and to fulfill Pakistan’s international obligation as a responsible nuclear weapon state and check the proliferation of nuclear and biological weapons and missiles capable of delivering such weapons.
The bill says “any person who contravenes any provision of this act, rules and regulations or provides false information concerning matters governed by this act to any of the agency responsible for administering this act, shall be guilty of an offense punishable on conviction by imprisonment for a term of 14 years jail, fine of Rs5 million and, on conviction, the offender’s property and assets wherever they may be shall be forfeited to the federal government.”
