US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday he had called on Pakistan to uproot a network believed led by a Pakistani scientist who gave nuclear weapons technology to Libya, Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).  

But Powell repeated the US view it was up to Pakistan to decide the fate of the scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who was granted a pardon last week by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the US war on terrorism.

Powell also told reporters he hoped to go to Pakistan by the end of the summer but had no immediate plans to travel there despite comments by a Pakistani official who said he was expected to visit soon to discuss the investigation into Khan.

A Powell visit could demonstrate support for Musharraf, who survived two assassination attempts in December, but could also increase domestic criticism that the general who took power in a bloodless 1999 coup is too close to Washington.

The pardon of Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, flies in the face of US nonproliferation efforts. But it has drawn no public criticism from Washington, which is eager to support Musharraf, who has backed US efforts to combat the al Qaeda group blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Powell said he and Musharraf had a "good conversation" over the weekend about Khan's pardon and the US demand that Pakistan uproot the network that Khan allegedly ran and that sold nuclear technology to nations hostile to the United States.

"The Pakistani government has done quite a bit now to roll up the network. I said to President Musharraf that we wanted to learn as much as we could about what Mr. Khan and the network was up to and it has to be pulled up by its roots and examined to make sure that we have left nothing behind," Powell said.

"He assured me that that was his objective as well and that he would share with us all of the information that they came up with," Powell added.

"We also talked about the issue of amnesty for Dr. Khan and President Musharraf reminded me that it was a conditional amnesty and that's the way they are dealing with the matter," he said. "It's a matter for the Pakistani government."

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Khan's pardon was conditional on his "cooperation" in the probe.

Analysts believe the Bush administration's decision to avoid criticizing the pardon in public reflects a desire not to undermine Musharraf, who could face popular protests if he were to try a man regarded in Pakistan as a national hero.

"He (Musharraf) knows we're concerned about a pardon ... if it didn't ensure that there would be no further (proliferation) activity," said a senior State Department official.

Powell also said he had not given Musharraf any reason in their recent talks to believe that a visit was imminent.

"I have no plans to travel to Pakistan. I'm sure I will before the spring and summer are out, but I read with the same interest that you did over the weekend that someone said I was on my way to Pakistan," he said.

(China Daily February 10, 2004)