Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan contradicted his earlier confession by claiming Friday that North Korea received centrifuges from Pakistan in a 2000 shipment supervised by the army. President Pervez Musharraf's spokesman countered Khan's claim by saying he would respond to the allegations after speaking to the president. Musharraf, meanwhile, hit back at calls for his resignation on Friday, saying he was needed to help political parties avoid an economic meltdown and tackle a militant threat gripping the country. "We cannot address the problems of terrorism and extremism and the economic crisis if there is no political stability," Musharraf told businessmen in Karachi in his first public address since his allies lost an election last February. Khan told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the uranium enrichment equipment was sent from Pakistan in a North Korean plane that was loaded under the supervision of Pakistani security officials. In 2004 Khan had publicly confessed that he was solely responsible for spreading nuclear technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya. Pakistan has repeatedly denied its army or government knew about Khan's nuclear proliferation activities. Khan told the Associated Press the army had “complete knowledge” of the shipment of used P-1 centrifuges to North Korea. “It was a North Korean plane, and the army had complete knowledge about it and the equipment,” Khan said. Khan's allegations, reported earlier Friday by the Japanese news agency, Kyodo, are his most controversial yet and could prove deeply embarrassing for both the army and Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led war on terror. Army and Foreign Ministry spokesmen declined to give immediate comment Friday. Asked why he had taken sole responsibility for the nuclear proliferation, Khan said he had been persuaded that it was in the national interest by friends including Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, a key figure in the then ruling party. Khan said that in return he had been promised complete freedom, but “those promises were not honored.” Aside from US support, Musharraf also maintained he had the support of the army. "It is not the army that will ditch me... that will be my last day ... that will never happen." Musharraf said the politicians should bury the past and work together with him for Pakistan's future, adding that he would be happy for the coalition to complete its five-year term. "Reconciliation is the name of the game," he said. "I would have resigned yesterday, if that could have provided solutions to the problems of Pakistan."
