ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court rejected on Thursday a petition moved by Habib Wahabul Khairi of Al Jihad Trust seeking strict security for nuclear scientists in the country.
The petition was filed in 2004 after Dr A.Q. Khan was taken into protective custody the same year, during the Musharraf regime, for his alleged role in nuclear proliferation.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk had taken up the petition after almost a decade, ostensibly to clear the backlog of cases.
Mr Khairi had urged the court to order immediate release of Dr Khan, who was at the time under protective custody, saying his detention had made the nuclear scientists insecure because they feared they could be kidnapped or assassinated.
“Insecurity among the scientists would not lead them to serve the country with commitment and dedication,” the petitioner said.
“When... India was elevating its nuclear scientist to become the president of the country, we were throwing our hero...into jail.”
The court asked the counsel whether the situation prevailing in 2004 still existed and whether any petition had ever been moved by scientists expressing apprehensions about their security.
Mr Khairi expressed apprehensions about the existence of a special cell in Inter-Services Intelligence that according to him influenced elections in the country.
The court, however, dismissed the petition.
Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2014