Islamabad/Hong Kong, Feb. 7 (Reuters): Pakistan denied today that the father of its atomic bomb sold nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries after Time magazine reported that the US was investigating the matter.

Abdul Qadeer Khan admitted last year to leaking nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, fuelling global fears about nuclear proliferation and technology transfers to terrorist groups. The latest edition of Time said US officials were investigating whether Khan also sold sensitive technology to Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Pakistani information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed dismissed the report as ?baseless and sensationalised?, though a spokesman for the foreign ministry said the case was not yet closed. ?As far as Iran, Libya and North Korea are concerned, there was an admission. But there is no truth as far as Saudi Arabia and other countries are concerned,? the minister said.

?Nothing has gone (to these countries) from the KRL. Its complete record is available,? he said, referring to the Khan Research Laboratories, Pakistan?s main uranium enrichment facility that was once headed by the disgraced scientist.

Foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said Pakistan was ready to investigate further if fresh evidence emerged. But, he insisted the government had dismantled Khan?s network. ?The international black market network, as far as it is related to Pakistan, has been dismantled. It has been neutralised,? he said. Time said Khan?s nuclear trafficking network played a larger role in helping Iran and North Korea than had been previously disclosed.

Khan travelled the world for more than a decade, laundering smuggling profits with gold dealers in Dubai, Time said. At one point, Khan was worth as much as $400 million. Investigators from the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency believe he also visited Saudia Arabia, Egypt and African countries, Time said. ?The purpose of those trips remains unclear, but officials have hunches: Saudi Arabia and Egypt are believed to be in the market for nuclear technology, and many African countries are rich in raw uranium ore,? the magazine said.