This routine makes a kabuki dance look like the boogaloo...
A habeas corpus petition has been made with the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench against restrictions on Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, asking the court to ensure that the nuclear scientists is allowed to lead a free life and to re-record his statement on the proliferation issue without coercion. Hasamul Haq, brother of Maj (r) Islamul Haq who is the principal staff officer of Dr Khan, has submitted the petition. Maj Haq is also under arrest and being investigated for nuclear proliferation. The petitioner prayed for halting the media trial of Dr Khan and an end to extraordinary security and undue restrictions on his movement. The petition stated that Dr Khan was a national hero and had rendered valuable services for the nation, but he was being humiliated on the basis of allegations made by other countries.
| Not on the basis of his confession, of course... |
The petition said that Dr Khan guaranteed national empowerment, integrity, security and prestige of Muslims but he was forced to record a confession under coercion. The petition has been filed through advocate Chaudhry Muhammad Ikram and the Federation of Pakistan has been made a party to the case through the interior secretary. Other parties to the petition are the Inter Services Public Relations director general, Inter-Services Intelligence director general and National Command and Control Authority chairman. The petition is likely to be taken up on February 9, along with other petitions by the detained scientistsâ families. The Attorney General for Pakistan Makhdoom Ali Khan has been asked to state the governmentâs legal position on the recent arrests of scientists and engineers of the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) for âdebriefingsâ. |