Nuclear secrets believed to be sold

DAVOS, Switzerland -- President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan said yesterday it seemed that Pakistani scientists had sold nuclear secrets abroad, but he reiterated Islamabad's position that there had been no official involvement.

Pakistan says it began questioning its nuclear scientists, including the father of its atomic bomb, Abdul Qadeer Khan, after the United Nations nuclear agency began investigating possible links between the nuclear programs in Pakistan and Iran.

Musharraf told CNN while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos that the investigation, launched in November, would be finished in "a few weeks." Asked what the likely outcome would be, he said, "Well, I would not like to predict, but it appears that some individuals, as I said, were involved for personal financial gain."

Musharraf went further than past statements from his government that individual scientists "may" have transferred nuclear technology to neighboring Iran.

He said similar allegations had been made against European individuals and countries. And he emphasized, "There is no such evidence that any government personality or military personality was involved in this at all."