Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf acknowledged Friday that scientists from his country appeared to have sold nuclear designs to other nations, probably “for personal financial gain.”
He denied that the Pakistani government knew of the sales at the time but vowed that those involved would be dealt with as “anti-state elements.”
Musharraf’s statement at a global economic forum here came after several weeks of delicate efforts to force Pakistan to deal with the scientists, according to diplomats and U.S. officials. Technical documents recently obtained from Libya on its nuclear program, as well as documents relating to Iran’s nuclear activities, undercut years of Pakistani denials and appeared to forced Musharraf’s hand, diplomats and U.S. officials said.
The documents “have created a situation in which the denials no longer hold up,” one senior U.S. official said.
Musharraf met several times in recent weeks with Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of the Pakistani atomic bomb, who is revered in the country as a national hero, the officials said. A number of scientists closely tied to Khan have been detained for questioning.
There have been protests in Islamabad over the detentions, and some European and U.S. officials said that Musharraf seemed to be preparing the political ground for arrests or other legal actions.
Starting in late December, Pakistani officials began backing away from their vigorous denials that their scientists had provided crucial help to several aspiring nuclear states, including Iran and North Korea. But on Friday, Musharraf went further.
“Well, I would not like to predict,” he said in an interview with CNN, “but it appears that some individuals, as I said, were involved for personal financial gain.”
Musharraf continued to insist that there was no government involvement in the sales, portraying the actions as the efforts of corrupt scientists. U.S. officials are skeptical of those claims.
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They note that when Pakistan received missile parts from North Korea, believed to be the quid pro quo for nuclear aid, a Pakistani air force jet was dispatched to Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, to get the parts.
“I don’t think anyone has proven the case for officially sanctioned transfers of technology,” one senior U.S. official said recently. But a senior European diplomat who has reviewed much of the evidence said that “it stretches credulity that proliferation on this scale can occur without senior officials in the government knowing about it.”
U.S. officials suggest that one of the reasons Musharraf is taking action against the scientists is that he may be trying to reassert his power. He may be trying to demonstrate that he will not be intimidated by critics who say he has warmed up too much to the United States.