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Pakistan arrests hard-liners before nuclear rally in support of scientist

Police arrested at least 50 religious hard-liners in Pakistan's biggest city yesterday ahead of a planned rally in support of the country's disgraced top nuclear scientist, who spread weapons technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

The arrests in the southern city of Karachi came after dozens of supporters of the opposition coalition Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) blocked roads by burning tires, said the city's police deputy inspector general, Tariq Jail.

An MMA spokesman called the arrests "madness," and urged Pakistanis to rally against the "humiliation" of Abdul Qadeer Khan -- founder of Pakistan's nuclear program -- and six other colleagues suspected of nuclear proliferation.

"It is the duty of every patriot Pakistani to attend rallies, which will be held today throughout the country to express solidarity with Abdul Qadeer Khan," said spokesman Nasrullah Sanji.

The MMA, also called the United Action Forum, is calling for protests and a nationwide general strike, despite President Pervez Musharraf's decision on Thursday to pardon Khan after he apologized and took full responsibility for the nuclear leaks in a confession broadcast on national television.

There was a partial shutdown and rally of 1,000 people in the northwestern city of Peshawar, where the MMA is in power, but most of the country's shops and business centers remained open Friday.

MMA supporters clashed with police in some parts of Karachi, but no injuries were reported.

Khan is revered by many of Pakistan's 150 million people. He founded the program that made Pakistan the Islamic world's first nuclear-armed state in 1998, rivaling the military might of its historic enemy and larger neighbor, India.

"We condemn the government for humiliating those scientists who gave us the nuclear program," said MMA leader Qazi Hussain Ahmad.

He accused the government of moving toward a rollback of the nuclear program -- although Musharraf said on Thursday he would never do that.

The president had also announced that Pakistan would, within the next month, test a new missile with a range of 2,000km -- nearly three times that of its current top missile. He vowed to keep Pakistan's nuclear capability.

Meanwhile, officials said yesterday that Khan could spend the rest of his life under virtual house arrest, as details emerged of how he ran a shady underworld network from Dubai with contacts in three continents, trading in nuclear centrifuges and atomic bomb blueprints.

Despite the presidential pardon, Khan will remain under tight security, unable to move around at will.

"It is a conditional pardon and Khan knows he would be jailed if he tries to proliferate again in any way," a senior government official involved with the investigation into the scandal said.

The proliferation saga stretches back over two decades.

Officials said Khan was protected against any demand for his handover from a foreign country or agency after authorities registered a police dossier against the tall, greying scientist for offences under the official secret act.

"The measures provide a protected wall around the fallen hero," one said.

According to government insiders, Khan ran a black-market network from the Middle East trading in centrifuges for uranium enrichment.
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