Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the detained architect of Pakistan's nuclear program, rebuked Pervez Musharraf on Thursday, saying the country has “gone to the dogs” in the last 10 years. Speaking by phone from his Islamabad residence, he told Dawn News television that the test had proved skeptics in the west wrong that “we were not capable of doing anything.” Yet hopes Pakistan could then make progress in economic development after becoming “self-sufficient” in national defence had not been realized, he said. “This has not happened. The last 10 years, the country has gone to the dogs,” Khan said. “People are hungry. You see the (rising) prices and all.” Asked if he blamed Musharraf for the nation's problems, Khan said: “The team leader is to be responsible for the failure of the team but all those who were with him did not assert themselves and (did not) do a proper job.” He was of the view that the new government should be given time to cope with Pakistan's many problems. Dr. Khan told Dawn News that the restrictions on his movements had not been relaxed although he was allowed out of his house to visit the Academy of Sciences this month to mourn a former colleague. Khan said he was free to use the phone but soldiers still guard his house and “only a very few people have been allowed to come and see me.” He also said his health had deteriorated because of his detention, adding that he had suffered many illnesses including deep vein thrombosis and prostate cancer - for which he underwent surgery last year. AFP adds: Asked about Pakistan’s nuclear test, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan said most of the facts about it were widely known, but there would be further revelations. When asked what was yet to be revealed, he said: “They will be out, there are some things -- they will be out in time, when and appropriate time is there,” adding that there were certain subjects he could not talk about because of the “national interest.”- DAWN - Latest Stories; May 29, 2008
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