More Pak N-crime facts tumble out

The investigation has widened beyond Iran, Libya and N Korea, the diplomats said. Their assessment comes about halfway through the probe by the International Atomic Energy Agency and western intelligence services into the A.Q. Khan network, whose tentacles extended to Dubai, Malaysia, South Korea, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Britain, the Netherlands and beyond, with potential ties to Syria, Turkey and Spain. Investigators said they expect to complete the probe by June.

Investigators are certain that some of the country’s decision makers were aware of Khan’s dealings, especially with N Korea, which apparently helped Islamabad build missiles in exchange for help with its nuclear arms programme, said one of the diplomats.

Andrew Koch, of Jane’s Defence Weekly, said he ran into evidence that senior military officers knew of Khan’s sideline four years ago, when he attended a military technology exhibition in Karachi. The booth of Khan’s Research Laboratories, complete with pamphlets offering uranium enrichment equipment, shared space with displays of anti-tank missiles and other items being sold by the defence industry, he said.