US Foreign Affairs Committee members urge for continued house arrest of Pakistani nuclear smuggler AQ Khan
In a letter to Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, the Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-CA), four key members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee wrote “convey our deep concern about new information that has surfaced regarding the nuclear proliferation activities of the A.Q. Khan network. Recent reports indicate that the Khan network may have transferred designs for smaller, more sophisticated nuclear warheads than were previously known publicly. These designs could allow states like Iran to more easily produce smaller nuclear warheads for its ballistic missiles, significantly increasing the potential nuclear threat from Iran to Israel and our European allies.”
Ever since his network was publicly revealed in 2003, Congress has been very concerned about the lack of access that the Government of Pakistan has given the United States to interview A.Q. Khan about the extent of his activities. A full investigation on the actions and activities of Dr. Khan has therefore not been possible.
The members mentioned that US must be allowed to gain direct access to A. Q. Khan to conduct a full investigation and find out what designs were smuggled and to whom. They said that the United States no longer has the luxury of relying on second-hand information from Pakistani authorities on Khan’s activities where our fundamental national security is concerned.
The members concluded “We strongly urge you to work with the new civilian leadership in Pakistan to not only grant the United States direct access, but to ensure that Dr. Khan is not released from house arrest. It is in the interest of the United States, Pakistan, and indeed the rest of the world, that the full actions of A. Q. Khan become known so that we can best deal with the ramifications. ”
The other 3 members are Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican Member; Gary L. Ackerman , Chair, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia and Mike Pence, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia .
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