After years under house arrest, Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan is finally speaking out about his life as a nuclear smuggler.

The father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb spoke up in recent interviews—mainly with Pakistan’s local press—but also with the AFP and UPI.

Kahn’s been under detention since 2004, after he was found to be at the centre of what is probably the largest nuclear smuggling ring in history. The ‘Khan network’ stretched from Malaysia to Germany and supplied technology and equipment to nuclear upstarts such as Iran and Libya (though Libya has since abandoned its nuclear ambitions).

Western governments see Khan’s imprisonment as justified given his proliferating tendencies, but in interviews Khan himself seems to see things differently. He told the AFP that his detention is a ruse to cover-up the misdeeds of others, possibly officials within the government, which has so far avoided being linked to Khan’s operation. “I confessed and took the whole blame on myself.”

A newly elected Parliament now seems poised to pardon Khan, who is seen across Pakistan as a national hero. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi echoed the views of many to the Dawn, a Pakistani news channel: “I think he should be allowed to have a meal at a restaurant.”