Sunday, March 27 2005 13:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: A Pakistani businessman has been barred from doing business with US companies after federal investigators found he had improperly bought high-tech components in Washington that could be used in nuclear weapons.

Humayun Khan, who has close ties with Pakistan's military, violated export regulations by trying to route American-made oscilloscopes and switches to Pakistan via South Africa, circumventing federal nuclear non-proliferation regulations, a report said.

The exports came to light last year, when Asher Karni, an Israeli citizen living in South Africa, was arrested in Denver on suspicion of illegally buying the equipment for delivery to Khan's company, the New York Times reported.

However, the Commerce Department only on January 31 prohibited the involvement of Khan and his company, Pakland PME Corporation, in any exports from the US for 180 days.

According to the order Khan conspired to export the components secretly between July 2003 and January 2004. Export of the high-tech devices - switches used both in medical equipment and nuclear weapons, and the oscilloscopes, which are used for testing electronic equipment - to Pakistan requires clearance from the Commerce Department.

The order said Khan was also involved in unauthorized US exports to a military supplier, Al-Technique Corporation of Pakistan, a company on a federal non-proliferation watch list.

Khan could not be reached for comment yesterday (Mar 26, 2005), but in an interview with the Times last year about the Karni case, he denied taking part in any smuggling of US technology to Pakistan. He said his company made deliveries mostly to colleges and high school chemistry laboratories, but he also occasionally bought equipment for Pakistan's military.