Khan: National interest

Islamabad, Oct. 17: Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan has claimed that the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) persuaded him to make the “so-called confession” about his role in nuclear proliferation.

The SPD is affliated to Pakistan’s nuclear command authority and it manages the country’s nuclear infrastructure and strategic assets.

Khan’s statement comes three months after Islamabad high court chief justice Sardar Muhammad Aslam relaxed curbs on the scientist’s movement. However, it barred him from speaking on the proliferation issue.

In a letter written in Urdu, Khan says that the confessional statement that he read out on television was handed over to him by the SPD. Khan said that he was asked to read out the confession in the “national interest” and, in return, was assured freedom within four months.