At 72, Dr AQ Khan wants to be a free man

Islamabad, Apr 2: Pakistan nuclear scientist Dr AQ KhanPakistan nuclear scientist Dr AQ Khan, kept under house arrest for almost two years, has rejected the medical report released a few days ago claiming that he was keeping well.

Dr Khan turned 72 yesterday.

Dr Khan, who underwent operation in 2006 is again stated to be ill and had been shifted from his residence in Rawalpindi to Karachi last month for treatment.

He said his health was deteriorating by the day, and appealed to the government for his immediate release and remove restrictions on his movement. He said that the cardinal cause of his bad health was his solitary confinement.

“My health is deteriorating and the claims of the Government about my physical well- being do not carry weight. My lower limbs are losing vitality and I am suffering from extreme lethargy, and blood pressure was going unmanageable day by day,” The Nation quoted him as saying in an interview with a newspaper.

Refuting the impression that he had been kept under detention due to his security concerns, he said: “It is nothing but only a lame excuse by the Government”.

Rebutting the government’s given logic behind his detention, he said, “It is simply irrational. I was roaming around the world freely at times when in 1979 numerous fake cases had been registered against me in Holland and I faced no security threat.” (ANI)