Weapon Program:
- Nuclear
Related Country:
- Iran
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Thursday said Dr Qadeer Khan had provided centrifuge to Iran. "He had given centrifuge to Iran in his individual capacity and the government of Pakistan had nothing to do with this," he said in response to a question at a seminar on "Political Reconciliation - Need of The Hour" organized by Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman Memorial Society here.
He said this was duly acknowledged that Dr Khan was involved in proliferation at the individual level but added the government would not hand him over to any other country. "Whatever we have told in this case, it should be duly accepted and acknowledged," Sheikh Rashid said. He emphasized that the issue of Iran's nuclear program should be settled through dialogue instead of opting for any extreme step.
Iran is a bigger country than Iraq and "our neighbor," he said, expressing the hope that a sane decision based on futuristic approach in case of Iran would be taken. Recalling the developments in the wake of 9/11 incident, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said President General Pervez Musharraf, keeping the country's interests supreme, had taken very right and courageous decisions.