House Arrest Lifted For AQ Khan?

Thats the question du jour. AQ Khan was allowed to go to a friends funeral, and is apparently allowed to see 8 friends of his and his daughter regularly. For those of you who don't know who AQ Khan is, he is the Father of Pakistan's nuclear power and was also responsible for proliferating nuclear tech to just about anyone who would listen (ie Iran, Libya, North Korea and who knows who else).

After the revealation of AQ Khan's proliferation ring, the Pakistani government (Musharraf) put him under house arrest and did not allow any foreign agencies to interview him. But apparently this guy is out and about now.

Good timing too with the creation of Talistan. I bet those guys are interested in talking to AQ Khan if they haven't already. BBC

The family of disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist AQ Khan say it is not clear whether his de facto house arrest has been permanently relaxed.

On Wednesday Dr Khan was allowed to make a rare trip from his Islamabad home to Pakistan's Academy of Sciences.

His wife, Henny, told the BBC her husband went to pay his respects after the death of a colleague.

....

Henny Khan told the BBC her husband was very happy to be out and about.

"But we don't know whether this was just a one-time relaxation or a change in the government's policy. Though he was very careful that nobody knows about the visit."

Dr Khan himself headed the academy for six years.

Officials there said they were surprised to find him amongst them.

"He just came and had a cup of tea with me," the academy's treasury secretary, Dr Misbahuddin Shami, told the BBC.

Mrs Khan said her husband was now allowed to see seven or eight friends and his daughter on a regular basis.

Pakistan's military was unable to clarify whether the relaxation of the terms of the scientist's detention was permanent.

A spokesman said the interior or foreign ministries should be contacted.

However, Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah said his ministry neither imposed the restrictions nor lifted any.

Many believe the relaxation could be the result of the change in government in Pakistan, where a civilian administration took power following elections earlier this year.