In its first official reaction to an admission by Pakistan's top nuclear scientist, A Q Khan, of providing sensitive technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, India on Friday said it is not an internal matter of Pakistan and the matter must be debated in the IAEA and elsewhere for a more responsible behaviour from countries with nuclear capability.
"Obviously, there were some charges and the Pakistan Cabinet decided to recommend to President [Pervez Musharraf]
that A Q Khan should be pardoned. The Pakistan president has pardoned him," External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said at a joint press conference with his British counterpart Jack Straw.
"Obviously, it appears to me that things will not stop here because it is not merely an internal matter of Pakistan but it is a matter concerning the entire international community. Pakistan itself is not a signatory to the NPT but Libya and Iran are," he added.
New Delhi's reaction assumes significance in the wake of US terming the presidential pardon to Khan as an internal matter of Pakistan.