PRESIDENT General Pervez Musharraf has said nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, was pardoned as the
latter had provided security to the country when it was facing near extinction.
He said this was the reason why Dr AQ Khan despite charges of proliferation levelled against him, was still a national hero. “He gave us security
when we were threatened with extinction... That is why he is a hero. But the world doesn’t understand this,” The New Zealand Herald quoted him as
saying.