Ten days after President Pervez Musharraf pardoned Pakistan’s top nuclear scientist for sharing nuclear technology with Iran, North Korea and Libya, the upper house of Parliament debated the issue for the first time on Monday night. General Musharraf’s government has rebuffed requests from opposition political parties to call a joint session of Parliament to discuss the issue. The rejection led to an intense four-and-a-half-hour debate in the usually staid Pakistani Senate. Opposition parties accused the military-dominated government of hiding the army’s role in the proliferation scheme; humiliating the scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan; appeasing the United States; and bypassing the elected legislators. “We are moving toward a massive whitewash,” said Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan People’s Party, “so that responsibility can be placed on one person or a group while others get away scot-free.” Full Story
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