MUNICH, Feb 8: Pakistan on Sunday defended its decision to pardon a top scientist at the centre of a nuclear probe and said he was only one of many in the world spreading atomic know-how, mainly to Iran.

Speaking at the close of a security conference here, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency had provided Islamabad with names of other people involved in supplying such technology to other states.

"I know the names, I don't wish to spell them out ... there are lots of Europeans involved and there are other countries involved," he said. The minister said Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan had been punished in the past and had to be treated in a "balanced" way.

"He is a national hero, because in the eyes of all Pakistanis he has brought about strategic balance in South Asia," said Mr Kasuri, adding the problem had occurred when Pakistan's nuclear programme was in its early, covert stages. He said Gen Musharraf had removed Dr Khan from his post about three years ago over the issue.

"Why this unhealthy focus on Pakistan, why not others? We are talking about various actors," Mr Kasuri said, and asked where Iran had found its laser technology to enrich uranium, or how it learned how to enrich plutonium.

NO FUTURE LEAK: Meanwhile, Pakistan has assured the United States that it will stand firm against future leaks of nuclear technology and will share the outcome of its proliferation investigation, a government official said in Islamabad.

Speaking by telephone to US Secretary of State Colin Powell late Saturday, President Pervez Musharraf discussed the ongoing investigation into how nuclear technology had been passed abroad, foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said.

He said Mr Powell's telephone call also touched on bilateral relations and the regional situation as well as the pardon granted to Dr Khan. "President Musharraf conveyed Pakistan's firm resolve that such activity will never happen in future," the spokesman told AFP on Sunday.

The country's nuclear programme is now "under firm control" of the National Command and Control Authority, which has taken steps to prevent proliferation in future, Gen Musharraf told Mr Powell.

"Powell conveyed the US appreciation of the efforts made by Pakistan and the manner in which it handled the investigation," the spokesman said. "The talks were held in a cordial atmosphere."

He said Pakistan and the United States affirmed "they will continue to support international efforts to curb proliferation." The spokesman said "Pakistan is ready to share information and results of our investigation inasmuch as they assist in achieving this objective."

"We have cooperated with the international community and we will continue to cooperate in the efforts to counter proliferation." Mr Powell would visit Pakistan "soon" for further talks on the nuclear investigation but no date had yet been set for the visit, a government official said in a separate statement.

The spokesman said the United States, China, France and other European countries had lauded the steps taken by the government to address the issue.

The international community knew it was a sensitive issue and it was difficult for Pakistan to take any decision on it, he told a TV channel. It was a difficult time for Pakistan, he said and added that the country had come out of the crisis successfully.

He said the president told Mr Powell that after taking these steps Pakistan's nuclear programme had 'become more safe'. -AFP/APP