PAKISTAN?S cabinet recommended yesterday that disgraced nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, blamed for leaking sensitive weapons secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, should be pardoned, state television reported.

A brief announcement on Pakistan Television said that the cabinet had decided to make the recommendation to President Pervez Musharraf.

The scientist issued a stunning personal confession on Wednesday, which also absolved the government from any involvement in one of the largest nuclear proliferation scandals in history. Few believe that Khan, the founder of Pakistan?s atomic bomb, could have acted alone, but a deal appears to have been brokered to spare the powerful military embarrassing scrutiny over any role it may have had in the leaks.

Analysts say an open trial of Khan, a national hero for his role in developing a bomb to rival that of neighbouring India, could reveal embarrassing evidence implicating the army, which Musharraf heads, and make the scientist a martyr.

The mystery of how Khan could have proliferated atomic secrets without government or military knowledge dominated local newspaper comments after his dramatic personal apology on national television on Wednesday night. In his address, Khan absolved the government and fellow scientists of blame in an apparent bid by all concerned to draw a line at home under what has emerged as one of the greatest nuclear proliferation scandals in history.

Commentators said Khan?s confession smacked of a cover-up, possibly part of a wider deal to spare the powerful military unwanted scrutiny in any trial and to allow Musharraf to sidestep pressure from Islamists and nationalists. ?The problem for President Musharraf is no longer related as much to foreign policy as to domestic politics,? the Daily Times said in its editorial. ?No one believes that the scientists could have smuggled some heavy nuclear hardware abroad without the knowledge of the Pakistan Army, which has been in charge of the nuclear programme.? However the paper said the issue should be laid to rest by accepting Khan?s petition for mercy and ensuring that there was no repetition of the proliferation activities. The News said Khan?s admission came after officials presented him with ?reams of evidence? of his illegal activities and threatened to lay the whole affair out for public scrutiny. It quoted one official as saying an agreed formula ?would allow Dr Khan to live the rest of his life peacefully in Pakistan, while the state would have an assurance that he would refrain from talking on this sensitive subject in the future.?

The United States, which has urged Pakistan to stop illegal proliferation to what it considers ?rogue? states, has publicly backed Musharraf, a key ally in its global battle against al Qaeda and allied Islamic militants.

A senior military official told Pakistani journalists on Sunday that Khan had made a detailed statement confessing to supplying designs, hardware and materials used to make enriched uranium for atomic bombs to Iran, Libya and North Korea. But the Pakistani revelations have raised concerns that the nuclear black market used by Khan to sell technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea may be far bigger than initially feared.

The case is sensitive for the United States which is eager to avoid jeopardising Musharraf?s position in Pakistan, which -- along with Saudi Arabia and Indonesia -- is one of Washington?s three key Muslim allies in its ?war on terror?. Musharraf has already made many enemies at home for supporting the US-led campaign and trying to make peace with India. The general narrowly survived two assassination attempts late last year blamed on disgruntled Islamic militants.

David Brunnstrom