Pakistan to Forgo Charges Against 2 Nuclear Scientists: Ties to Bin Laden Suspected

Title: Pakistan to Forgo Charges Against 2 Nuclear Scientists
Author: Peter Baker and Kamran Khan
Publication: Washington Post
Date: Jan 30,2002
URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58229-2002Jan29.html

LAHORE, Pakistan, Jan. 29 -- Pakistan has decided not to press criminal charges against two of its nuclear scientists whose reported contacts with Osama bin Laden stirred fears of nuclear terrorism, according to officials and a lawyer involved in the case.

Although Pakistani authorities concluded the scientists violated a secrecy oath during trips into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, the government decided they would not have been able to give away information necessary to build a bomb. A trial, officials said, would generate further international embarrassment and risk disclosure of Pakistan's nuclear secrets.

"So far everything that relates to our nuclear program is a state secret," said a senior Pakistani official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "By talking to Osama and his folks in Afghanistan, the two scientists broke their oath to secrecy, yet we were forced to ignore their action in the best interest of the nation."

The scientists, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood and Abdul Majid, will remain under government control as part of a deal worked out for their release from strict detention. They are currently living in a safe house in the capital, Islamabad, and restricted in their travels and communications. Mahmood's family, which went to court seeking his release following his arrest last fall, agreed to the arrangement and on Monday withdrew a legal complaint filed here in Lahore, the family's home town.

"There was a settlement. It was a mutual understanding between him and the government," said the family's attorney, Mohammed Ismaeel Qureshy. "They are not prisoners. What was communicated to me was they were under protective custody for their own protection."

Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, made the decision to forgo prosecution, sources said. But his government assured U.S. officials that they would have access to the scientists for further questioning if requested. U.S. officials have been particularly concerned about the case and participated in previous interrogations. The case was a major subject of a trip to Pakistan by CIA Director George J. Tenet last fall.

In Washington, the CIA said it had no comment on the Pakistani decision.

Mahmood and Majid were detained in October after intelligence reports indicated they might have been helping bin Laden's al Qaeda network obtain a nuclear weapon.

The two scientists, who had just returned from the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, said they had traveled to Afghanistan only for charitable work. Under questioning, they acknowledged meeting bin Laden and providing detailed answers to his questions about weapons of mass destruction, according to government officials. But they insisted they discussed only their academic knowledge about the enrichment of nuclear material and at no point shared Pakistani nuclear secrets with bin Laden or his lieutenants, the sources said.

Pakistani authorities concluded that the scientists could not have disclosed vital information because they were not involved in the weapons side of the nuclear program. Mahmood, who at one time held top positions at three of Pakistan's most important nuclear facilities, and Majid, a top engineer, left government service in 1999.

Mahmood, like many Pakistani officials before Sept. 11, was a Taliban supporter, but he was forced out after he spoke against signing a nuclear test ban treaty and in favor of helping other Muslim countries with their nuclear programs.

Qureshy, the family attorney, denied that Mahmood met with bin Laden or helped al Qaeda develop nuclear weaponry. "It is not true," he said. "He had no communication with Osama. He headed a philanthropic organization. They said they wanted to help the people of Kabul and Afghanistan."

Government sources disclosed this week that Mahmood and Majid told investigators that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) had sanctioned their charity activities and meetings with the Taliban leader, Mohammad Omar. Until Sept. 11, the ISI had been a patron of the Taliban.

Whether the scientists' contention was true or not, Pakistani authorities clearly did not want such issues aired through a court proceeding, even one kept closed to the public. "The trial of these scientists, particularly at this juncture, would have attracted tremendous international media attention," said a senior Pakistani official in explaining the decision not to file charges.

As recently as last month, officials were suggesting strongly that they planned to charge the scientists. Mahmood and Majid were released in mid-December to celebrate with their families the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that ends Ramadan, even as government authorities were proposing to Musharraf that they be prosecuted for violating the nation's official secrets act. If charged and convicted, they could have received seven-year prison terms. Officials said at the time that the scientists' Eid furlough would be temporary and that the investigation was continuing.

Little is more precious to Pakistan's government than the secrecy of its nuclear program. Pakistan first tested underground nuclear devices in 1998, shortly after its arch-rival India conducted a test. The fact that both countries have nuclear weapons capability has made the subcontinent a flash point, particularly during the recent tension over the disputed region of Kashmir and a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in New Delhi.

Analysts have said they believe Pakistan has enough nuclear material to assemble 30 to 40 warheads, and it has test-fired intermediate-range missiles that could be used to launch them. However, officials and specialists said Pakistan keeps its warheads and missiles stored separately and has not moved to "mate" them with an eye toward using them during the current crisis.

Khan reported from Karachi, Pakistan.