No leakage of classified info to US by Foreign Secy: Pak

Islamabad, Aug 17 (UNI) Pakistan has ruled out possibility of leakage of classified information to the US by Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan through his spouse Susan R Johnson, who occupies a high post in the US State Department.

''There is no reason to doubt his integrity,'' Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khusro Bakhtiar told the Senate or upper house in reply to a question by Senator Enver Baig yesterday, reports said.

He said Riaz Mohammad Khan was not Foreign Secretary when he married Ms Johnson, currently serving at the State Department as senior coordinator in Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Affairs in Washington. Mr Khan had obtained prior permission from the government before marrying a US national.

He pointed out that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto became Prime Minister while he was married to an Iranian national, he clarified.

The house was informed that there were a total of 13 employees of of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the BPS-18 grade and above who were married foreign nationals. Three of them, including the present Foreign Secretary, had married American nationals.

UNI