Pakistan Says Secrets Apparently Were Sold

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Friday that Pakistani scientists apparently sold nuclear secrets abroad “for personal financial gain” but that the government was unaware of the sales at the time.

Pakistan says it began questioning its nuclear scientists, including the father of its atomic bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, after the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency began investigating possible links between the Pakistani and Iranian nuclear programs.

In an interview with CNN in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum, Musharraf said the investigation would be finished in a few weeks.

Asked the likely outcome, he replied: “Well, I would not like to predict, but it appears that some individuals ... were involved for personal financial gain.” Musharraf’s remarks went further than previous government statements that individual scientists “may” have transferred nuclear technology to Iran.

He said similar allegations had been made against European individuals and countries, “so it is not Pakistan alone.”

And he stressed: “There is no such evidence that any government personality or military personality was involved in this.”

Asked about reports that Pakistani scientists had transferred technology to Libya and North Korea, he replied:

“I am not denying anything, because we are investigating; we have sent teams to Libya, we have sent teams to Iran and we are in contact with the IAEA.”

He said there would be “stern action” against violators: “There is nothing that we want to hide, we want to be very up and clear about it that we will move against anybody who proliferated” because “they are enemies of the state.”