A Q Khan suffering from cancer

Islamabad: Disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan is suffering from prostate cancer, the government said on Tuesday.

Tests conducted in August indicated that Khan was suffering from the disease, a Ministry of Information statement said.

Khan, a leader in the program that built Pakistan's first nuclear bomb, is believed to be 70 or 71 years old.

He has lived under virtual house arrest in Islamabad since he confessed in early 2004 to leaking sensitive nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

The statement said doctors were alerted to Khan's condition during a routine medical examination, which was followed by an ultrasound guided biopsy, the results of which were analyzed by two specialists.

''The results have unfortunately indicated adeno carcinoma cancer of the prostate. Further investigations are being conducted by a board of doctors,'' the statement said.

''Since the state of health of A Q Khan is of public interest, the government of Pakistan would like to hold out an assurance that the best specialist medical care is being provided to Khan in consultation with his family and personal doctors,'' it said.

''The public will be kept informed from time to time whenever necessary.''

Khan was shifted to his home from hospital on Monday, a senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity since he wasn't authorized to comment on the issue. It wasn't clear how long Khan had been hospitalized.

Khan is still regarded as a national hero by many Pakistanis because of his role in developing the country's nuclear deterrent to rival that of its larger neighbor India. The two countries, which have fought three wars, both tested nuclear bombs in 1998.

Despite his fall from grace after he was exposed as a nuclear proliferator, Khan was pardoned by Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Since then, Khan has not been seen in public - other than when he's sitting on the veranda of his Islamabad villa.

In June 2005, Khan suffered a cardiac problem but was not hospitalized.

Born in present-day India in 1935, Khan immigrated to Pakistan in 1952, five years after its partition from India.

He is the only person in Pakistan's history to have been awarded the Islamic nation's highest civilian award twice.