Sunday, January 17, 2010
Govt planning to muzzle Dr AQ Khan through court By Umar Cheema
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to show zero tolerance to renowned nuclear scientist, Dr AQ Khan, allegedly for disclosing state secrets in his interaction with foreign journalists, local media interviews, and public speeches in “breach” of the undertaking that had won him freedom from the previous restrictions.
The enormity of official concerns is evident from the fact that a high-level meeting on Friday, presided over by no less than Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, was held to exclusively discuss the issue of Dr Khan’s unrestricted exchanges.
The meeting was attended by top military brass and government’s legal eagles. The meeting was reportedly convened at the request of the security establishment and was attended by Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Minister Babar Awan, PM’s Adviser Latif Khosa, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Tariq Majid, DG ISI Lt Gen Shuja Pasha, DG Strategic Planning Division Lt Gen (retd) Khalid Kidwai, Attorney General Anwar Mansoor.
Background discussions with the participants revealed that the security establishment was deeply perturbed over Dr Khan’s activities whereas the government feels his “irresponsible” statements could again put Pakistan in an awkward situation.
It was decided that Dr Khan would be reined in through legal manoeuvres by requesting the court to hold him accountable for ‘violating the undertaking given by him to the court’. The attorney general, sources told, had been tasked to agitate the matter before the court.
When contacted by The News, the AG declined to comment on any question relating to the discussion on Dr Khan in the meeting.
The spokesman of the prime minister said Dr Khan’s issue was not under debate during his presence and the meeting instead was about the strategic balance in the region. Intriguingly, the press release issued on Friday did not give any details about the meeting’s agenda.
“Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani chaired the Strategic Planning Division’s (SPD) meeting at the PM’s House here this afternoon and discussed matters of strategic importance,” the press release said. It just named the participants but didn’t go into details of the meeting.
However, more than two participants confirmed to The News the meeting was exclusively about Dr Khan.
As far the terms of freedom granted to him by the court, it required strict adherence to the annexure ‘A’ attached with the verdict. A reading of the annexure shows that Dr Khan is forbidden from communicating with foreign journalists but he has allegedly been doing so. Besides, he cannot address public gatherings, which too he has done.
The important points of the annexure are as follows: “Dr Khan should refrain from exploiting specific media personnel to influence public opinion on various national/internatio nal issues without the government clearance.
“Dr Khan should refrain from indulging in any political activities and high-profile socialisation whatsoever.
“That Dr Khan shall join the pending inquiry/investigati on on proliferation as and when required by the competent officials. He is also directed to return any material or document, etc, on Pakistan’s nuclear programme in his control, if any.
“The petitioner must keep his movements secret and avoid his visits to public places.”
As far the order prohibiting him from communicating with foreign journalists, he not only allegedly did so, but also sent the annexure under question to a British Journalist, Simon Henderson, now a fellow in the Washington Institute in the US. The fact is evident from one of Simon’s articles, disclosing a four-page letter loaded with nuclear proliferation details sent by Khan to him; his words about the annexure were reproduced in The News story.
“The terms of that freedom were detailed in a secret “annexure A” of the court judgment, the final version of which Khan only saw later,” Simon wrote in his September’s article. “One of the lines in the original draft that he was asked to sign was: ‘That in case Mr Simon Henderson or anyone else proceeds with the publication of any information or material anywhere in the world, I affirm that it would not be based on any input from me and I disown it.’ That line was eventually deleted and replaced with a more general prohibition,” he wrote, about unnamed “specific media personnel”.
Despite the court judgment specifying that the contents of the annexure “shall not be issued to the press or made public in any manner”, a copy reached me in the West,” Simon wrote.
Dr Khan’s four-page letter has been a constant source of fodder for the foreign media, as the Washington Post wrote a number of news stories on proliferation to China, North Korea and Iran. Simon had provided that letter to the Post. In the latest story of the Post relating to proliferation to North Korea, Khan had allegedly accused DG SPD Kidwai of involvement.
Besides, Dr Khan in a latest interview with a local channel defended the act of sharing nuclear technology with friendly countries that could have serious repercussions for the country, an insider of the Friday meeting said.
As far the restrictions in annexure on attending public rallies is concerned, Dr Khan defied it by addressing the Rawalpindi Bar Association. The Friday meeting discussed that by attending such meetings, when Khan was heavily surrounded by the people, the miscreants could benefit from the situation and he could be kidnapped falling in the wrong hands.
The Blackwater’s CEO had already admitted in an interview that the CIA had formed an assassination squad for Dr Khan and they were about to do so in Dubai, but were stopped.
Dr Khan’s lawyer Ali Zafar, when contacted to know why his client was violating the undertaking made with the court through the annexure, said different clauses were included in it without seeking Khan’s consent and the annexure did not carry any signature of Khan.
However, the government said Khan should have gone in appeal, if he had any objection to the annexure. He did not go to the court for six months after this annexure was handed over to him and only started protesting when he was barred from attending a ceremony in the American School where his granddaughter was studying.
“We had stopped him from going there to prevent his interaction with the foreigners present there,” a government official said. Rejecting Ali Zafar’s argument, the government official produced a court order, dated February 6, 2009, saying Ali Zafar knew about the conditions attached.
These include: “(1) Syed Ali Zafar, advocate, learned counsel for the petitioner, had argued that the petitioner is not involved in any criminal activities, including the so-called nuclear proliferation and he be declared a free citizen with due state protection in accordance with the terms of mutual agreement Annexure-’A’.
(2) Be that as it may, after arguing at some length, the respondent No 1 has offered the terms and conditions fully detailed in the Annexure-A, which has been voluntary accepted by the learned counsel for the petitioner.
(3) The petitioner is declared a free citizen and the writ petition is disposed of in accordance with the Annexure-A, contents of which shall not be issued to the press or made public in any manner, as requested by both the parties.”
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