Khan: Musharraf approved nuclear sale

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 5 (UPI) -- The Pakistani scientist accused of operating a nuclear proliferation ring says President Pervez Musharraf approved a sale of weapons to North Korea.

Abdul Qadeer Khan, once honored in his country as the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb and now under house arrest, told reporters Friday the army was involved in a 2000 shipment of centrifuge tubes used to enrich uranium to North Korea, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"It was a North Korean plane, and the army had complete knowledge about it and the equipment," Khan said. "It must have gone with his (Musharraf's) consent."

"I can say with full confidence that it is all lies and false statements," Musharraf spokesman Rashid Qureshi told the newspaper.

Khan once vowed that he alone was responsible for the proliferation incidents. But since the election of a new government, he has become increasingly outspoken and has retracted this confession, saying he only made it to protect other Pakistani officials, the Telegraph reported.