The chief justice of the Islamabad High Court, Sardar Mohammad Aslam, made the decision after hearing lawyers representing government and the nuclear scientist in a closed doors session on Friday.

"The petitioner is declared a free citizen and writ petition is disposed off," said a written order issued by the court.

Khan has been effectively under house arrest in Islamabad since February 2004, when he confessed on television to sending nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, although he retracted his remarks later.