Masood said that the report circulated by an American magazine said the so-called 'Khan network' was still active as a "highly speculative story, and nothing but a re-hash of several speculations" that had been peddled by the Western media in the past.
He said he would not like to comment on the report as it was a highly speculative substance, except that it was incorrect to say that the 'network was still in operation'. This may be true of the international black market network, but in Pakistan this apparatus has been dismantled and neutralised.
Second was the claim that some 60 cylinders of a related chemical were missing. This was also not correct as Masood Khan said he had checked with the people concerned and they said that their inventory was complete and nothing was short.
The spokesman said that the Government had conducted a thorough investigation that was very transparent, "and we kept the international community informed about the results through the International Atomic Energy Agency".
He said that Pakistan had done more than any other country in the world in such matters. There were other countries, he added, which were involved in what he termed as "international black market network" and "we have yet to see if they are also investigating what had happened there".
He also rejected the allegation that A Q Khan had transferred the nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, and described it as pure fabrication.
The spokesman said Pakistan is a responsible state and knows how to guard its nuclear assets without the help of foreign assistance in this respect.
However, he said, Pakistan had not closed its investigations in the international black market and if fresh leads emerge they would checked out.
When asked if Pakistan would use its good relations with US and Iran to ease tensions between the two countries, the spokesman reiterated the wish of Islamabad that the two countries resolve their differences through bilateral talks.
Replying to a question about the postponement of Summit conference of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc), Masood regretted that the postponement was forced on at a stage when all preparations had been completed and most of the committees had finalised their work.
The postponement had come as a disappointment as it had taken away an opportunity of a meeting between Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh which could have spurred the current composite dialogue.
About the current conference in Saudi Arabia on international terrorism, he said the Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) led Pakistani delegation and the aim was to come up with an operational strategy to evolve co-ordination mechanisms.
Islamabad, he said, welcomed the proposals given by Crown Prince Abdullah to stem the tide of terrorism.
He confirmed that Pakistan has not received a confirmation if Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be visiting Islamabad during the middle of March, but added that the matter would be discussed when the External Affairs Minister Nutwar Singh pays a visit here later this month.