Washington: Asserting that Pakistan's decision to pardon its chief nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan is an internal matter, the US has said the action needs to be seen in the light of that country's overall efforts in investigating leakage of nuclear secrets and urged Islamabad to should ensure that proliferation does not happen again.

"As far as the specifics of sentencing or pardons or whatever, that really is a matter for Pakistan to decide and they will take, I am sure, appropriate measures under Pakistani law and regulations to ensure that he and his associates are no longer able to endanger the international community," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said yesterday (Feb 05, 2004).

The actions that Pakistan has been taking with regard to this investigation and uncovering information about the actions of various Pakistanis, said Boucher, need to be seen in the context of the overall international effort against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

"The spread of nuclear weapons and technology," said Boucher, "is indeed a matter of global concern. The US has urged all nations that have this technology to take precautions to ensure that it is properly controlled, that it does not fall into the hands of rogue States, non-State actors and individuals.

"And that is why we have said that we value the commitments President Musharraf has made to prevent the expertise in Pakistan from reaching other places and other countries and other nations, and we have welcomed the investigation that they have undertaken into reports that such activities have occurred," he said.