I knew that the IAEA had received information from Pakistan regarding the AQ Khan network, but Olli Heinonen recently gave an “interview”:http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,790042,00.html to Der Spiegel in which he said that Khan had communicated with him:

bq.. SPIEGEL: Have you ever met Khan? Were you at least able to question him after his arrest in Islamabad in 2004?

Heinonen: I followed his trail for years, and met several of his confidantes. But I never got to speak to him. *Nevertheless, he answered some of my questions in writing through secret channels.*

p. Heinonen’s response to AQK’s “denial”:http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,770746,00.html of a nuclear black market’s existence is also amusing:

bq.. SPIEGEL: From his house arrest he now insists he had nothing to do with passing on nuclear secrets or having made lucrative private deals. Do you believe him?

Heinonen: *It brings tears to my eyes.* Of course Khan was the worst black marketeer and made millions from it. Even so, it’s quite possible that others — for instance Pakistani generals or leading secret-service officials — profited even more than Khan did. It’s more than likely that his country’s political authorities were often aware of his dealings.