According to these sources Pakistan is likely to share the final findings with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that had recently approached Islamabad for cooperation on this front.

Pakistan is currently on the 35-member Board of Governors of the IAEA. Pakistan insists that the ongoing probe is "internal" and that the IAEA is not involved in it.

Senior officials describe it as a "strictly in-house inquiry" in which no foreigners or IAEA representatives are allowed to participate. They maintain that the "cooperation" sought by the IAEA is confined to "consultations."

Although the government claims the inquiry has been undertaken on its own initiative, officials admit it was prompted by IAEA's request.

Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan disclosed last week that during inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities by IAEA, the Iranian Government declared to the IAEA "certain international and Pakistani-linked individuals as international intermediaries and blackmarketeers."

The spokesman, however, categorically stated: "Pakistan has never proliferated and it will never proliferate." Apparently the Iranian authorities admitted to the IAEA that they had been assisted in the uranium enrichment by five Pakistani scientists, a Sri Lankan scientist and three German businessmen. Later, Iran informed Pakistan about its disclosure to the IAEA.

The government's stated position is that based on IAEA's subsequent request for "cooperation" the Pakistani authorities are investigating certain individuals who might have violated Pakistani laws for personal commercial gains. In this connection, Dr A.Q. Khan is also being questioned.

It is not clear whether authorities are also questioning any former army generals who were in office during the period indicated for the alleged transfer of nuclear technology.

When the Foreign Office spokesman was asked about it on Monday there was no outright denial or confirmation. "I have no information of that sort," was his short response.

There have been emphatic calls from certain circles in Pakistan against any attempt to make Pakistani scientists a scapegoat in the probe. Meanwhile, questions are also being raised as to why there is focus on Pakistan alone? Individuals from other Asian, European and North America countries have also been named, officials here point out.

"We hope that similar investigations are taking place there and similar questions are being asked from them," a senior official said, emphasising that Pakistan should not be singled out.

A report on Dec 21 in the Washington Post notes: "In a new finding, sophisticated laboratory tests by IAEA detected traces of Soviet-made highly enriched uranium at Iran's Kalaye nuclear facility, a former testing centre for uranium-enrichment equipment, knowledgeable officials said.

Several distinct types of enriched uranium have been found at the site. Although there could be other possible explanations, the finding could indicate that Iran obtained some fissile material from a former Soviet state in testing its equipment, the officials said."