Al-Qaeda's Nuclear Contact?

By Tim Burger and Tim McGirk

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the No. 3 leader of al-Qaeda, who was captured in Pakistan on March 1, has been questioned extensively about his relationship with Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 hijackers. But his U.S. interrogators have also grilled him about another figure of much concern to Washington: Abdul Qadeer Khan, the maverick Pakistani scientist who has been called the father of the Islamic Bomb. U.S. intelligence, according to one official, has information that the al-Qaeda man and the nuclear scientist had connections with the same safe-house operator and may have crossed paths. They were "reported to be at the same place at approximately the same time," the official said. Under questioning, according to the source, Mohammed denied seeing Khan and downplayed any usefulness Khan may have had to al-Qaeda. Khan declined repeated requests from TIME to comment on the accusations.

The CIA believes that Khan had a key role in helping North Korea develop at least one or two nuclear devices, a senior official tells TIME. Under pressure from the U.S., the Pakistani government two years ago stripped Khan of his position in the nuclear and military establishment and barred him from traveling abroad without official permission. Within Pakistan, Khan is always accompanied by two military officers, Pakistani officials say. But Washington fears that he may still have enough freedom to be able to shop Pakistan's nuclear secrets to other clients. Says a Washington official: "He moves around very freely and has everything he needs inside his head, if not his briefcase." --By Tim Burger and Tim McGirk