PESHAWAR, June 17: General Secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, has expressed concern over the ailment of nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan and warned that the government would be responsible if anything untoward happened to him.

Mr Jhagra alleged in a statement that the media trial conducted by the government under the directives of foreign forces had shocked the scientist to such an extent that he had become a heart patient. He said the rulers were determined to go to any extreme for the legitimization of their illegal and unconstitutional government and putting the nuclear hero under house arrest was one of such steps.

“Dr Khan is a hero of millions of Pakistanis who sacrificed a career in the Netherlands and made Pakistan one of the world’s nuclear powers,” the PML-N leader said.

The treatment meted out to the national hero would be remembered as a dark chapter in the country’s history and no son of the soil would be willing to render sacrifices for the national cause in future, he said.

Mr Jhagra said the PML-N was concerned about the safety and wellbeing of Dr Khan and it would set up camps where prayers would be offered for his health. He appealed to the nation to pray for Dr Khan’s recovery.