Nuclear scientist: Pakistan army knew of shipment

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's army under President Pervez Musharraf supervised a shipment of uranium centrifuges to North Korea in 2000, the disgraced architect of Pakistan's atomic-weapons program said yesterday.

The assertion is the most controversial leveled by Abdul Qadeer Khan, who in recent months has been agitating for an end to house arrest and backing off his 2004 confession that he was solely responsible for spreading Pakistan's nuclear-arms technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

The retired scientist's comments could prove embarrassing for Pakistan, which has repeatedly denied the army or government knew about Khan's proliferation activities before they were uncovered in 2003.

His allegations also could become awkward for Washington in its support for Musharraf, who has been a key U.S. ally in the region but has seen his power and popularity erode at home.

A spokesman for Musharraf rejected Khan's assertions, calling them "all lies."

Some Pakistani experts have long argued that Khan's network could not have operated without the knowledge of the country's pervasive intelligence agencies.

In a telephone interview, Khan said a shipment of used P-1 centrifuges - which enrich uranium for nuclear warheads - was sent from Pakistan in a North Korean plane that was loaded under the supervision of Pakistani security officials.

Khan said that the army had "complete knowledge" of the shipment and that it must have been done with the consent of Musharraf, the army chief who seized power in a 1999 coup.

"It was a North Korean plane, and the army had complete knowledge about it and the equipment," Khan said. "It must have gone with his [Musharraf's] consent."

His allegations were first reported yesterday by the Japanese news agency Kyodo.

Musharraf's spokesman, Rashid Qureshi, disputed the allegations. "I can say with full confidence that it is all lies and false statements," he said.

Spokesmen for the army and the Foreign Ministry declined to give immediate responses to Khan's assertions.

Khan is regarded as a hero by many Pakistanis for his key role in the program that gave their country the Islamic world's first nuclear bomb in 1998, seen as a deterrent against the atomic arsenal held by neighboring India.

After his 2004 confession and a televised statement of contrition, Khan was pardoned by Musharraf, but he has effectively been kept under house arrest at his spacious villa in Islamabad.