Pakistan Vows to Monitor Scientist

[Coventina]

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan has sought to assure the United States that Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced nuclear scientist whom a Pakistani judge released Friday from house arrest, is still restricted in his movement and activities, a Pakistani official said Sunday.

Mr. Khan will be barred from foreign travel, monitored closely, allowed to receive visitors only from an approved list of family and friends, and barred from making financial transactions, said the official, who requested anonymity because of the delicacy of the matter.

Mr. Khan is a hero in Pakistan for developing the country’s nuclear program, and many claimed the Zardari government was detaining him at the behest of Washington, which accused him of selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

The court’s decision helped Mr. Zardari domestically but forced him to assuage American officials’ concerns that Mr. Khan could rebuild his proliferation network.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/world/asia/09khan.html?ref=world