WASHINGTON: A Pakistani national on Friday was sentenced to 37 months in a US prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to illegally transfer nuclear-related materials to his home country from the United States.

Nadeem Akhtar, 46, who lives in Maryland outside Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced by US Judge Frederick Motz in Baltimore to the prison term and to be followed by two years of supervised release.

He admitted that he and his conspirators used his company to obtain or attempt to get various nuclear-related devices and equipment from 2005 to 2010 and he misrepresented what they were and to whom they would be sold, the Justice Department said.

The items, which included radiation detection devices, resins for coolant water purification and calibration and switching equipment, had a value of more than $400,000.

Akhtar took direction from the owner of a trading company located in Karachi who had business relationships with Pakistani government entities, the Justice Department said.

It said Akhtar's co-conspirators included individuals in Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and New York associated with the owner of the Pakistani trading company.

Washington has long been concerned with Pakistan's nuclear program, which included the development of atomic weapons and added to regional tensions with its longtime rival, India.

Akhtar is a legal permanent resident in the United States and he could face deportation after completing his sentence.