‘US not seeking direct access to AQ Khan’

ISLAMABAD—The United States was not seeking direct access to A Q Khan for questioning in connection with his nuclear proliferation network, Ambassador to Washington said.
General (Retd) Jehangir Karamat, the former Army Chief, said he believed the US was not seeking direct access to Khan, and the sudden interest of some members of the US Congress over the issue was linked to a hearing on the Indo-US nuclear deal, which revived interest in all issues relating to nuclear proliferation. Karamat, who would be succeeded by another retired military general Mohammad Ali Durrani as Ambassador to the US, said that Pakistan should be consolidating its ties with Washington and the Hamid Karzai government in Afghanistan. Apparently referring to the emerging tension between Pakistan and the US specially after Washington’s refusal to offer Islamabad a nuclear deal similar to the one it signed with New Delhi, Karamat advised caution and said Pakistan should focus on institutionalizing its ties with the US.—Agencies