Dr.A.Q.Khan confess responsibility for nukes technology seeks clemency from President Pervez Musharraf.
The founder of Pakistan's nuclear programme, Abdul Qadeer Khan, accepted full responsibility for all leaks of Pakistani nuclear data Wednesday and sought clemency from President Pervez Musharraf, a government statement said.
Khan "has accepted full responsibility for all the nuclear proliferation activities which were conducted by him during the period in which he was at the helm of affairs of the Khan Research Laboratories, the statement said.
Khan had also "submitted his mercy petition to the president and requested for clemency," it said.
Musharraf was to consult the National Command Authority, the top decision-making body on Pakistan's nuclear and missile programme, before deciding whether to accept Khan's plea for mercy, the statement said.
Pakistan television showed an interview with Khan who said he had told the president "what had happened."
"I gave him the background what was happening and what had happaned," Khan
told PTV.
"He (Musharraf) appreciated the frankness with which I gave him the details and insh'allah (God willing) he will discuss with the cabinet, with the prime minister, with other colleagues and then he will take a decision how to proceed and close this matter."
Musharraf said the entire nation had been "severely traumatised by the unfortunate events in the last months," a reference to the investigation into nuclear leaks by Pakistani scientists to Iran, Libya and North Korea. |
