A Q Khan rejects The Atlantic charge of violating land zoning laws to build Islamabad house (Amended article Feb. 7)

Islamabad, Feb.14 (ANI): Top Pakistan nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan has condemned inaccuracies in The Atlantic magazine's November 2005 cover story that has falsely accused him of building a "large weekend house" in Islamabad by blatantly disregarding zoning laws of the city.

In an exclusive phone interview given to iMediaEthics reporters Rhonda Roland Shearer and Malik Ayub Sumbal, Khan described The Atlantic report as being " .. totally rubbish and based on lies by William Langewiesche (the author of the article), who is a liar." http://www.imediaethics.org/index.php?option=com_news and task=detail and id=2638

he Bani Gala house near the Rawal Lake "is totally a legal construction, and there are dozens of houses in the row of my house," Khan reiterated to iMediaEthics.

In the article for The Atlantic magazine, Langewiesche uses the construction of this house to set up a dramatic opposition between the wealthy Khan, with the large country home, against Islamabad's poor, who ultimately drink water polluted by development near the lake.hough Khan has been restrained from giving interviews by the Lahore High Court vide its order of October 2010, he told iMediaEthics reporters Shearer and Sumbal that he felt a determined need to set the record straight about The Atlantic's uncalled for and unsubstantiated attack.

While Langewiesche has in his article claimed that Khan not only built a luxurious house, but also defied zoning laws in his choice of location, iMediaEthics found that Langewiesche and The Atlantic fact checkers failed to square that account against the zoning laws and English-language court records that, in fact, show Khan's home is perfectly legal.

In fact, iMediaEthics also discovered that Langewiesche never spoke with Khan about any of the charges he makes in his lengthy cover story.

Note: Amended article on Feb, 07, 2012(ANI)