Musharraf was US stooge, transferred sensitive info: AQ Khan

Calling Pervez Musharraf an "American stooge", disgraced nuclear scientist AQ Khan has accused the former President of transferring "very sensitive information" on Pakistan's atomic programme to the US.

He also confirmed a recent media report which cited an account provided by him as saying that China provided
Pakistan enough weapons-grade uranium for two atomic bombs and the blueprint for a simple nuclear weapon in 1982.

"The nation must know that national secrets were handed over to Washington by the former President (Pervez
Musharraf) who was an American stooge," Khan told The News.

Khan said he is ready to record the facts in this regard in a court.

He also confirmed a media columnist's observation that Musharraf was "hell bent" on handing him over to the US.

Former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had confided to the scientist that he was under "severe pressure" to sign an exit order to hand him over to the US.

However, Jamali refused to do so after taking his cabinet into confidence, Khan said and claimed that Musharraf
had kept a C-130 military transport aircraft ready to take him to the US.

Confirming that the Washington Times report on China providing uranium to Pakistan was true, Khan said it was
based on a letter he had handed over to his daughter Dina Khan in 2004 as a precautionary measure. Advertisement

Musharraf attacks Zardari as 'criminal, fraud and third-rater'

Asif Ali Zardari is a "criminal" and a "fraud" who will do anything to save himself, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said about the Pakistani president who succeeded him last year.

The former Pakistan President told well-known US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in an interview that he was still in contact with Army Chief General Asfaq Kayani and didn’t think the military was capable of mutiny — "not the Army he knew".

"Asif Zardari is a criminal and a fraud. He’ll do anything to save himself. He’s not a patriot and he’s got no love for Pakistan. He’s a third-rater," Musharraf was quoted as saying by Pakistani daily The News today.

Musharraf told Hersh that he and General Kayani, who had been his nominee for chief of army staff, were still in telephonic contact.

The former military ruler said he didn’t think the Pakistan military was capable of mutiny — not the Army he knew.

"There are people with fundamentalist ideas in the Army, but I don’t think there is any possibility of these people getting organised and doing an uprising. These ‘fundos’ were disliked and not popular," Musharraf was quoted as saying by the Pakistani daily. Advertisement

Musharraf living above kebab shop in London?

Pakistan continues to be the favourite subject of spoof with writers, who now claim that former President Pervez Musharraf is "living above a kebab shop" in London and President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to take a "brief five-day break from his 360-day foreign tour".

A spoof on "how the mighty have fallen" gives details of Musharraf’s whereabouts. "…And now here he is in London slumming it above a…street kebab shop-cum-shisha bar...," goes the write-up on a humour website.

It states that Musharraf called a press conference "hastily" to tell the world about his new address.

The other 'breaking story' put out by Pakistan’s own version of thespoof.com states that in a "surprising move, the office of the Presidency announced that President Zardari will embark on an epic five-day domestic tour of the country, in attempt to reign in domestic donors and to find new ‘friends’ of Pakistan."

"President Zardari’s trip to Pakistan will take place in between his upcoming trips to Dubai and China," reads the story on themailatimes.com.

"During his five-day tour, President Zardari will spend most of the time at the President’s House, meeting important politicians and businessmen."

Zardari, according to the spoof, also tackled questions about "wasting millions of dollars on exuberant trips". "Toh, what’s the matter? I don’t need to be physically present to make important decisions." Advertisement