Doubts raised over Pakistani `confession'

[dArKeR]

Opposition parties, political and military experts and relatives of detained officials on Monday questioned Pakistan's assertion that the founder of the country's nuclear program had shared technology with Iran, Libya and North Korea for more than a decade without the knowledge of his superiors.

"This is cock-and-bull story," said Dr. Muhammad Shafiq, 39, the son of a retired Pakistani army brigadier accused of participating in the scheme. "If you want to believe it, believe it. The truth is nowhere near this story."

In a background briefing to 20 Pakistani journalists on Sunday night, a senior Pakistani official said the scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, had confessed to covertly sharing nuclear secrets with Iran, Libya and North Korea from 1989 to 2000. US officials said parts of the government's account matched events tracked by US intelligence and that nuclear aid from Pakistan had flowed to North Korea in 2002 and Libya last fall.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/02/04/2003097411