July 06, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 2, 1429

ISLAMABAD, July 5: Nuclear scientist Dr A. Q. Khan has claimed that he had been coerced into making the confessional statement about the proliferation of nuclear material and the pardon President Musharraf gave him was not conditional.

“If at all there were conditions attached to the pardon, a document got forcibly signed by a person has no value,” he said while talking to Dawn on Saturday.

Commenting on the statement by Director-General Strategic Planning Division (SPD) General (retd) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai that irrefutable evidence was available against him, he said “they can say whatever they like.”

Rejecting the charge that he had caused harm to the national interest by his statement, the scientist said that he had sacrificed for the sake of the country and could not cause harm to the national interest.

He said General Pervez Musharraf had caused harm to the national interest by authoring a book while he was in uniform.

He pointed out that the book had a chapter pertaining to smuggling of centrifuges to North Korea.

Dr Qadeer confirmed that he had amended the draft of the request for pardon prepared by the National Command Authority.

He said he did so because there was a lot of rubbish in it.

He said he had not been allowed to see his friends and relatives at their place.

“Why would I refuse to accept such an offer if given to me. Am I a scoundrel,” he questioned.