ISLAMABAD, 5 February 2008 — The secretary-general of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Qaid), Syed Mushahid Hussain, told the BBC yesterday that the government has decided to free Pakistan’s nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan from house arrest after general election.
Khan was detained in 2004 for his alleged involvement in unauthorized export of nuclear material and centrifuges to several countries. He appeared over state-run PTV and confessed that he had been involved in unlawful export of nuclear material to various countries through a Dubai-based outlet. He was later granted presidential pardon, but was kept under house arrest. It was unclear on what authority Mushahid Hussain made the statement about the next government freeing the scientist when the outcome of the Feb. 18 election was not known.
