Dr Khan's daughter says her father is still not a free man
30 Jun 2008, 1124 Hrs

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Islamabad, June 30 (ANI): Pakistan's nuclear scientist Dr AQ Khan, whom the federal government claimed to have freed last month, is still not a free man as he can't meet visitors and can't talk over the phone without the prior permission of security authorities, his daughter Dina Khan has said.

She said that the Pakistan government's claims that her father was a free man today were 'false'.

Taking a strong note of deputy attorney general of Pakistan Raja Abdul Rehman's recent statement that Dr Khan was not being kept in detention, as visitors could meet him, and that security had been beefed up to 'protect' him, Dina said that actually her father was still kept under detention.

According to The News, Dina warned the federal government that if her father was silenced, she would continue to fight and won't sit like a silent spectator.

"Allowing certain family members to come to the house does not mean that my father is a free man. He cannot leave the house, he can't entertain people without getting prior permission from the government, and he cannot talk on the phone without it being monitored and screened. Please tell me if that is not detention, what is," the paper quoted her as saying.

Dina further said that as far as the issue of her father making statements against the national interest was concerned, perhaps the government should have thought of that when they locked him up and brought false accusations against him.

"If my father is talking to the media today, it is only because after more than four years, he is tired of waiting for the government to fulfill its promises. He is no longer a young, healthy man", Dina said and added that if this was what it took for him to live the remaining life without these restrictions, "then I support him 100 per cent and I encourage him all the way."

"If Rehman thinks he can stop my father from talking by issuing a writ against him, he is mistaken. Even if my father cannot personally issue any further statements, the rest of his family will continue to do so on his behalf. How many people can you force into silence?" she added. (ANI)