ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said the international community is much concerned about nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea which, some time create problems for Pakistan.
"Whenever a new clue is found against Iran and North Korea for their involvement in nuclear matters, unfortunately things end up putting blame on Dr A.Q. Khan," he added while addressing a news conference here on Thursday. The president, however, made it clear that the government would not allow any foreign agency or country to interrogate Dr Khan.
Interrogation, he said, had been conducted by the government in the past and whenever any question arose over the issue in the future the government would speak to Dr Khan and inform the agency or the country concerned about it.
The president agreed that things were turning difficult for Iran but hastened to add: "We would not allow anyone to come here to conduct investigation against Dr Khan."
The government, he said, could probe nuclear-related issues as it had done in the past and added that Pakistan's role in this respect had been appreciated by the international community. The president said that Pakistan had told the US, the EU and other countries that nobody could directly question Dr Khan.
When his comments were sought on a recent report in a US magazine about nuclear black market, he said all concerned people, including US President George Bush, knew that Pakistan had always cooperated in finding truth from various people about nuclear proliferation.
"If any foreign agency still wants to ask anything from Dr Khan, we will do it on our own but won't allow anyone to land in Pakistan for the purpose," he added. "There are many Western countries which did not like Pakistan to have nuclear capability but we will remain a nuclear power and will never succumb to any pressure in this respect," he asserted.
Responding to a question, the president said that Pakistan had not shown unilateral flexibility for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Pakistan, he maintained, had not given up its stand on plebiscite and the right of self-determination of the Kashmiris.
"We will not unilaterally concede anything to India and this has to be done bilaterally to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the dispute," he said. The recent accord on resumption of bus service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar, the president said, could be reached only when both sides showed flexibility.
