US maintaining tight vigil on A Q Khan’s ‘revived’ nuke proliferation network

WASHINGTON - Describing disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan’s proliferation network as one of the deadliest, the United States has said it is still keeping a close watch on the nefarious association.

Speaking during a regular briefing here, State Department spokesperson P J Crowley said that though the Pakistan government claims that Khan’s network is no more active, the Obama administration is keeping a tight vigil to check any proliferation.

“While A Q Khan himself is out of business, according to the Government of Pakistan, we watch his network very closely for signs that others within his realm are still in business,” The Nation quoted Crowley, as saying.

Responding to questions, Crowley clarified that it was an ongoing focus of the US.

“A Q Khan network is responsible for some of the most serious cases of proliferation in recent decades. We have worked intensively with Pakistan and other countries to shut down that network,” he said.

“It is something - it’s an ongoing focus of ours, and because we - this is a part of our broad international effort to try to stem sources of proliferation around the world. So it is an area of ongoing concern,” Crowley added.

The issue has once again come to the light following an article in The Washington Times reporting that the proliferation network has revived its work.

The article said that scientists, engineers and financiers, who were part of Khan’s nuke smuggling network, were being contacted by several governments.

“The development is raising concerns among US intelligence agencies about the revival of the proliferation network that was thought to have been shut down years ago,” the report had noted. (ANI)