The founder of Pakistan's nuclear program asked President General Pervez Musharraf for forgiveness Wednesday for spreading nuclear weapons secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, the government said.
Abdul Qadeer Khan requested the meeting with Musharraf that was held in Rawalpindi, the government said in a statement, cited by The AP.
Khan requested he be forgiven in a "mercy petition" to Musharraf, considering the services he had rendered to Pakistan's nuclear program, the government said. The president told him the "entire nation had been severely traumatized" by the revelations of such proliferation.
Khan "accepts full responsibility for all the proliferation activities, which were conducted by him during the period in which he was at the helm of affairs at Khan Research Laboratories," the government said. Khan founded the lab in the 1970s and headed it until retiring in 2001.
For his part, Khan told state-run PTV in an interview that Musharraf had been "extremely kind and understanding."
"We discussed this ongoing affair, the international campaign against Pakistan about nuclear matters," Khan said. "I explained ... the background on what was happening and what had happened, and he appreciated the frankness with which I gave him the details."
It should be noted this was the first public statement by Khan since the investigation into the proliferation allegations began over two months ago.
On Saturday, meanwhile, Khan was sacked as a government adviser and officials say he has confessed in a written statement to selling nuclear technology.
A government statement issued after the meeting with Musharraf said Khan realized his proliferation activities, "which were in clear violation of different Pakistani laws, could have seriously jeopardized Pakistan's nuclear capability and put the nation at risk."
"Khan expressed his regrets and said that he is likely to make a statement to the nation," the government said.
The statement said that the president would consult with the National Command Authority that controls Pakistan's nuclear assets before taking a final decision on Khan's plea for mercy.
Musharraf was expected to address the nation in the upcoming days to announce what action will be taken against Khan and six other suspects in the case. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
