BEIJING, Mar. 11 -- Pakistan's information minister has acknowledged that a scientist at the heart of an international nuclear black market investigation gave centrifuges to Iran. But he insisted the government had nothing to do with the transfer.

    It's the first time the Pakistani government has admitted that Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan actually gave atomic bomb-making material to Iran. But, it has said in the past that his criminal group sold technology and blueprints to several countries.

    Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had already stated that Khan would never be handed over to a third country for prosecution.

    He also said on Thursday that Islamabad is fully cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

    Centrifuges are used to enrich uranium - a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors. Khan, considered the father of Pakistan's own nuclear program, confessed last year that he sold nuclear technology to several countries including Iran and Libya.

    (Source: CCTV.com)