Word: pakistanis
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Michael Levi, a proliferation expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, says Khan himself is not a threat. As a private Pakistani citizen, he will not have the access to sensitive technology and facilities, and Levi believes the networks Khan once ran to trade nuclear secrets have largely been smashed. "He can't enable proliferation simply with the ideas in his head," says Levi...
Khan was placed under house arrest in 2004 after he appeared on Pakistani state television to issue a teary-eyed confession. In that midnight appearance, speaking in English, he said he claimed sole responsibility for his actions. The next day, then President Musharraf pardoned the father of the country's nuclear program, citing his status as a national hero for establishing Pakistan as the first Muslim nuclear state and sparing him the indignity of a trial and imprisonment. Islamabad has since repeatedly rebuffed all calls from the IAEA and Washington to question Khan, saying that it has passed...
While many Pakistanis will cheer the court's decision, it has caused dismay in Washington. A U.S. State Department spokesman said the move was "extremely regrettable" and "unfortunate," adding that Washington believed Khan remains a "serious proliferation risk." Analysts believe that the court's decision could prove a source of embarrassment for the Pakistani government just days before Richard Holbrooke arrives in the region for his first visit as the Obama Administration's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last month, the U.S. State Department slapped sanctions on 13 individuals and three companies for their involvement with Khan's proliferation...
Khan's release comes as no great surprise, because it was clear the Pakistani government was not going to keep him under house arrest forever. But proliferation experts worry that his release by the Islamabad high court will be interpreted as a vindication of his claim that he had never been involved in any criminal activity. The experts say this could encourage others - including some in the Pakistani nuclear program - to follow his example...
Joseph Cirincione, who advised President Obama on nuclear issues during the presidential campaign, disagrees. "Claims by the Bush adminstration that they had 'shut down' the network were never true," he tells TIME by e-mail. "The network still operates, in part to keep equipment coming into the Pakistani program. European intelligence agencies say companies and individuals in the network are still involved in black market sales. Khan's release means it is likely that these operations will increase." (See a map of A. Q. Khan's dangerous game...