New York: President Pervez Musharraf has revealed that his "most embarrassing moment" was when a US official placed in front of him concrete evidence of Pakistan's top scientist A Q Khan leaking nuclear secrets to Iran and North Korea.
Musharraf claims he only suspected that Khan was passing secrets to Iran and North Korea until the then CIA Director George Tenet confronted him with proof at the United Nations in 2003.
"(Tenet) took his briefcase out, passed me some papers. It was a centrifuge design with all its numbers and signatures of Pakistan. It was the most embarrassing moment," he admits in an interview to CBS news.
Musharraf learned then, he says, that not only were blueprints being given to Iran and North Korea, but also the centrifuges themselves - the crucial technology needed to enrich uranium to weapons grade - were being passed to them.
"(Khan) gave them centrifuge designs. He gave them centrifuge parts. He gave them centrifuges," he said.
Despite the fact that the military was guarding Khan's nuclear facilities and the total amount of secret material sent from the laboratory was more than 18 tons, Musharraf denies anyone in the government or military had to know.
"First of all these centrifuges, or their parts, these are not huge elements. They can be put in your car and moved," he says.
Musharraf adds, "(The shipments) were not done once. They must have been transported many times."
Comments
0 comment