Pak govt seeks court ban on AQ Khan's free movement

The Pakistani government today asked a court to bar disgraced nuclear scientist AQ Khan from moving around freely, meeting people and giving interviews to the media in the interest of national security.

Senior lawyer Ahmer Bilal Soofi filed a petition in this regard on behalf of the government in the Lahore High Court.

Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry issued a notice seeking Khan's response to the petition at the next hearing scheduled for January 25.

"Mr Khan should be prevented from giving interviews, meeting people and moving around without security clearance," the petition said. It sought an immediate ban on Khan's interaction with the media.

Khan was placed under house arrest in early 2004 after he confessed to running a nuclear proliferation network on state-run television.

Following a secret understanding between Khan and the government last year, a court eased some of the restrictions imposed on him. However, Khan has filed several petitions seeking further easing of restrictions on his movement.

Recent revelations made by the Western media on the basis of a letter written by Khan to a journalist have caused embarrassment to the Pakistan government, which insists that the scientist's case is a "closed chapter".

The petition filed by the government today asked the court to immediately permit it to investigate claims made in media reports that Khan was in communication with journalist-turned-researcher Simon Henderson.

Khan "should either deny or admit the claims made by Washington Post that he has been providing information to Simon Henderson, who was the source of these articles," the petition said.
 
"This matter being of utmost importance and relating to the national security and defence of Pakistan deserves to be investigated thoroughly," the petition said.