07 February 2004	Saturday	15 Zilhaj 1424

NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said on Friday that revelations of nuclear proliferation by Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan were an international issue and his pardon by President Gen Pervez Musharraf could not be considered the end of the matter.

Mr Sinha suggested an IAEA debate on the issue and indicated that though NPT clauses did not apply to Islamabad, they were applicable to Iran and Libya.

"Obviously, there were some charges and the Pakistan cabinet decided to recommend to the president that A.Q. Khan should be pardoned. The Pakistan president has pardoned him," Mr Sinha said in reply to a question at a joint news conference with visiting British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

"Obviously, it appears to me that things will not stop here because it is not merely an internal matter of Pakistan but it is a matter concerning the entire international community. Pakistan itself is not a signatory to the NPT but Libya and Iran are".