Senators blast Bush admin handling of Khan's proliferation activity

Washington, June 28 (UNI) US Congressional Panel on the West Asia and South Asia Chairman Gary Ackerman has criticised the Bush Administration for the manner in which it had handled the nuclear proliferation activities of the Pakistani scientist A Q Khan.

In a statement, made during a hearing entitled ''A Q Khan's Nuclear Wal-Mart: Out of Business or Under New Management,'' Congressman Ackerman said, ''On a government to government level, the Bush Administration has refused again and again to press the Pakistani government for direct access to A Q Khan, the one man who could answer all the outstanding questions,'' relating to the proliferation activities.

He said, ''Even though the threat of terrorists getting access to nuclear weapons is cited as the greatest threat to American national security, the President (Bush) has responded by giving Pakistan a squadron of F-16's, a giant 'get out of jail free card' and has declared that the network has been 'shut down'.'' ''But the President's facile conclusion and willingness to believe the few answers about the Khan network that the Pakistanis grudgingly provide, ignores the fact that all the incentives and missing safeguards that led the government of Pakistan to encourage A Q Khan in the first place, still exist,'' Ackerman said.

Congressman Joseph Crowley, another Democrat from New York also spoke about the role of scientist Khan in transferring nuclear technology to Iran and Libya.

''The world may never know the full extent to which Pakistani scientist A Q Khan proliferated nuclear secrets and weapons to rogue states. But we must hold Pakistan accountable for this serious transgression and for pardoning Dr Khan. Because, the global community cannot tolerate the widespread proliferation of nuclear arms technology,'' Crowley said.

UNI