Pakistani nuclear scientist fights house arrest

Sep 19, 2007, 8:10 GMT

Islamabad - Disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan will appeal to the Supreme Court against his house arrest in Islamabad for running an international nuclear proliferation smuggling network, media reports said Wednesday.

The 71-year-old scientist directed lawyers to prepare a petition challenging his confinement over the past three years, arguing that he was never formally proven guilty in court, the Pakistani daily The News reported.

The head of Pakistan's nuclear programme for three decades and father of its atomic bomb made a televised apology to the nation in 2004 for his involvement in black market sales of sensitive technology to several 'rogue states.'

However, in view of his services to the nation he was pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf and placed in detention at his home in an elite residential district of the capital.

According to Washington, Khan over the years supplied centrifuges and other restricted material to North Korea, Iran and Libya. His activities were made known to Musharraf by the US Central Intelligence Agency in late 2003.

The scientist was thought to have been encouraged to challenge restrictions on him by the current tensions between the Supreme Court and Musharraf as judges examine opposition petitions against his candidacy in upcoming presidential elections.

Khan is still revered by the Pakistani public for developing the country's nuclear weapons. He is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.