Confession and closure?
Pakistan's nuclear controversy has apparently come to an unceremonious end with the confession and presidential pardon of Abdul-Qadeer Khan, the "father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb", reports Iffat Idris from Islamabad
For weeks, the major story in Pakistan has been the nuclear proliferation allegedly carried out by some of its top nuclear scientists. While the international community has been concerned about the extent of the proliferation uncovered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Pakistan's government has had to balance appeasing international concerns about proliferation with placating domestic opinion, which is strongly in support of the scientists. Last week, the government implemented a strategy that it hopes will satisfy both international and domestic audiences and stop the scandal from mushrooming further.
Following allegations and leaks in the press, which increasingly pointed the finger of blame at Abdul-Qadeer Khan, the "father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb", his involvement was very publicly confirmed on Wednesday 4 February. State TV carried news of a meeting between Khan and President Musharraf in which the former admitted his guilt and pleaded for clemency. An official statement described what ensued: "During the meeting Dr A Q Khan reconfirmed to the president the details of the proliferation activities that he had committed in the past and had admitted earlier in interviews with the investigating team appointed by the government.
"Dr A Q Khan had submitted before the president that he accepts full responsibility for the proliferation activities which were conducted by him during the period in which he was at the helm of affairs of KRL." The Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) facility is the primary site at which Pakistan's nuclear programme is developed. State TV also broadcast Khan reading out a statement to the nation, in which he admitted his guilt and offered "deep regrets and unqualified apologies to a traumatised nation". In his TV statement, Khan reiterated, "there was never any kind of authorisation for these activities by any government official. I take full responsibility for my actions."
For President Musharraf, it was this last clarification that was the crux of Khan's confession. The president knows that should it be proven that senior military and government officials were involved in proliferation activities, Pakistan's nuclear programme, and its standing in the international community, would be seriously threatened. Potential consequences include Pakistan having to open its nuclear facilities to international inspection, it having to sign the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty, and even being labelled as a "rogue state" or within the "axis of evil".
President Musharraf hopes that Khan's very public confession will convince the international community that the Pakistan government is not, and has not been, engaged in proliferation activities. Furthermore, by showing how seriously it is taking the allegations and investigating what happened in the past, Musharraf hopes to convince the international community that Pakistan's nuclear programme is safe and there is no chance of future proliferation.
In a press conference at Army House on Thursday, the president announced that the decision on whether to pardon Khan had been discussed by the National Command Authority and forwarded to the cabinet. It had recommended, in view of Khan's contribution to Pakistan's nuclear programme, that his plea be accepted. Hence Musharraf declared that he would forgive Khan.
The decision is good news for Khan, but also for the government that was able to avoid prosecuting the popular scientist. A trial would have aroused strong public opposition, and may possibly have revealed nuclear secrets that the government would rather keep hidden. The public spectacle of confession and clemency thus save face for both the scientist and the government.
However, in the international community, and even more so in Pakistan, people are very sceptical about the government's assertions that Khan acted alone. They point to the massive security and surveillance apparatus that permanently surrounds all those involved in Pakistan's nuclear programme, claiming this would make it impossible for any scientist -- let alone someone whose profile was as high as Khan's -- to engage in covert proliferation activities. Whatever was done must have been done with the knowledge and support of the authorities, critics insist. A widespread feeling is that Khan has been made a scapegoat to appease the international community.
In view of this scepticism, will the government's strategy succeed? The early signs suggest that it will. On the home front, a nation-wide strike called by the Islamist six-party alliance Muttahida Majlis- e-Amal, in protest of the government's treatment of Khan, was largely a flop. In many towns and cities markets stayed open and public transport operated in defiance of the strike call. This indicates that the Pakistani public, while not happy, are at least satisfied that no judicial action is being taken against Khan. The president's plea, in a press conference last Thursday, that it was in the national interest to play down the possibility of official involvement in nuclear proliferation, also seems to have had an effect.
On the international front, there was good news from US Secretary of State Colin Powell and from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Both accepted Musharraf's decision to pardon Khan. "The action he took with respect to pardoning Dr Khan is something that he felt it was appropriate for him to do, and he has explained his position thoroughly," said Powell. Annan was similarly sympathetic, adding: "Obviously it is a very difficult situation that he has to deal with. He is dealing with a national hero." Both stressed the accomplishment achieved by Islamabad in uncovering the Khan network. For the international community, President Musharraf's contribution as a key partner in the "war against terror" has overcome suspicions about official proliferation.
But this does not mean the pressure is completely off Islamabad. Colin Powell will be making a four- day trip to Pakistan later this month, during which nuclear proliferation is expected to be top of the agenda.
In another awkward issue for the government, a provincial minister was released last week after being kidnapped in northeast Pakistan. Punjab Minister for Sports and Culture Naeemullah Shahani was kidnapped on 10 January in the semi- autonomous FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan) region on the Afghan border. The kidnapping was apparently random, with the local gang only realising the identity of their hostage after having abducted him.
Faced with the highly embarrassing kidnapping of a provincial minister, the government started negotiations with tribal leaders to secure his release. The talks themselves appeared to have yielded nothing, but on 2 February the minister was abruptly freed. Some rumours hint that the minister's family paid a ransom of at least Rs2.5 million (approximately $44,000), while others suggest the kidnappers released him to avert the possibility of large numbers of government troops entering the tribal belt. Shahani himself claimed to have escaped while his kidnappers were out for Eid prayers. With rumours circulating that he had gone to FATA to buy a smuggled vehicle, Shahani's incensed superiors seem likely to withdraw his portfolio in the near future.
The kidnapping incident confirms the tribal belt's reputation as a place where the writ of the government holds little sway. Both Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar are believed by many to be hiding out in the untamed FATA region. The length of time it took to secure Shahani's release indicates the problems the government faces in trying to flush out Al-Qa'eda and Taliban leaders in its part of the "war on terror".
