Pakistani court declares nuclear scientist free

A Pakistani court yesterday declared disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan free, ending five years of house arrest for the man at the centre of the world's most serious proliferation scandal.

Dr Khan, lionised by many Pakistanis as the father of the country's atomic bomb, confessed to selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya in 2004, but was immediately pardoned by the government, although his movements were restricted to effective house arrest.

"It's a matter of joy. The judgment, by the grace of Allah, is good," Dr Khan told reporters outside his Islamabad house soon after news of the High Court ruling broke.

In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was "very much concerned" about Dr Khan's release. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama wanted assurances from Pakistan that the scientist would not be involved in nuclear proliferation.

State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said the United States believed Dr Khan "remains a serious proliferation risk."

"The proliferation support that Khan and his associates provided to Iran and North Korea has had a harmful impact on international security and will for years to come," Mr Duguid said.

Dr Khan, 72, who has been treated for prostate cancer, said he did not care what foreign governments thought. "I am obliged to answer only to my government not to any foreigners," he said. "I will always be proud about what I did for Pakistan," he told reporters.

Dr Khan's detention had been relaxed over the past year; he was allowed to meet friends and travelled to the city of Karachi at least once under tight security.

He also gave media interviews after a new government came to power in March but was barred from speaking to reporters by a July court ruling.