ISLAMABAD: Two top Pakistani nuclear scientists have been arrested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for allegedly transferring technology to Iran, according to reports here.

The FBI is believed to have arrested Yasin Chohan, director general of Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan's premier nuclear facility, and Farooq (no second name), a director, Dawn said on Thursday.

Farooq was said to be ‘very close’ to KRL founder Abdul Qadeer Khan, widely acknowledged as the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme.

"Nobody in Khan Research Laboratories exactly knew about the whereabouts of the two scientists and it is believed they have been picked up by FBI. When contacted, the public relations officer of KRL said he was completely in the dark on the issue," Dawn said.

Abdul Qadeer Khan could not be reached for comment.

"Khan is not at home and it is very difficult to tell where he will be at this time," a person who received the telephone call at his residence told Dawn . The issue figured in parliament with Senator Sajid Mir raising the point in the upper house.

He lamented that those who had made the country's defence strong were now picked up to please some foreign countries, a report in The News said.

"KRL, which was considered a solid guarantee of national defence, had been opened to foreigners to arrest Pakistani scientists," Mir charged.

"With this act, the government is now a security risk for the country," Senator Khursheed Ahmed Khan of the opposition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) religious alliance, told reporters.

"The government should take the people and parliament into confidence over the arrest of scientists," demanded MMA Senator Ishaq Dar, charging that the government had decided to roll back its nuclear programme.

"Our nation should launch joint efforts to safeguard the vital programme otherwise the US will take it over," he maintained.

The Pakistani government reacted cautiously on the issue. A foreign office spokesman said people associated with sensitive programmes "are governed by stringent personnel dependability and debrief programme.”

"This is a normal practice, especially in nuclear weapons states. These people are aware of their responsibilities in terms of their efficiency and conduct.

"Under the programme, individuals may have to undergo debriefing sessions and the matter referred to falls within the scope of this practice," the spokesman said.

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