Dubbing Pakistan scientist A Q Khan's recent confessions as a cover up, former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto has said many believed that President Pervez Musharraf was involved in the leakage of nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
"Many of us believe that General Musharraf himself is involved," Bhutto told BBC. "Dr Khan could not have done this on his own. There are certainly other people involved."
Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party, said she wanted to know whether there was a change in policy since as prime minister, she had pursued a policy of no export of nuclear technology.
"I would like to know whether the president or the prime minister changed that policy or whether the army acted in defiance of the president or the prime minister or whether the intelligence acted as an independent operator," she said.
"General Musharraf would like the world to believe that Dr Khan is responsible for the export of nuclear technology. But nobody in Pakistan buys that. We believe there is a cover up and we want the real culprits identified so that this can
never happen again," she said.
Bhutto said Musharraf's decision to pardon Khan only fuelled suspicion that the president himself was involved.
"If somebody is allowed to export nuclear technology, make millions of dollars from it and then get away with it. What is there to stop them to try to earn it again?" she asked.