Khan claims he confessed to save Pakistan

Detained nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has said he took the blame four years ago for passing atomic secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya in order to “save his country.” Khan added that the country’s new government had not yet contacted him about his possible release.

Khan was pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf after his confession but has remained in detention since. Musharraf denied any state involvement in Khan’s activities, but has rejected international requests to quiz the scientist.

“I saved the country for the first time when I made Pakistan a nuclear nation and saved it again when I confessed and took the whole blame on myself,” Khan told AFP in a telephone interview from his Islamabad villa late Sunday. Khan is hailed as a hero by Pakistanis for transforming the country into the Muslim world’s first nuclear power. Pakistan carried out nuclear tests in 1998 in response to detonations by India.

Members of the new Pakistani government have indicated that they may consider freeing Khan as they review Musharraf’s policies over the past nine years and seek to roll back his powers. However, Khan said he had had no contact with the new administration yet. Dawn

Zardari’s praise for Palin raises eyebrows

Pakistan and Iran agreed on Tuesday to initiate work on the multi-billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline.

President Asif Ali Zardari and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agreed to set up a joint company to raise capital for the US 7.5 billion dollar project.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the 63rd United Nations General Assembly session and covered a wide range of issues.

The two sides agreed on a meeting of their two foreign ministers on October 9 and 10, besides setting up a committee of five senior officials from either side to finalise the IPI project.