Khan seeks Musharraf's mercy

Accepting full responsibility for selling nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, Pakistan's top nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, met President Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi on Wednesday and sought clemency, reports the BBC.

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"The president was extremely kind and understanding...I explained to him all things. I gave him the background, what is happening, what had happened and he appreciated the frankness,"  Khan told state television later.

According to a government statement issued Wednesday,  "Dr A Q Khan submitted before the president that he accepts full responsibility for all the proliferation activities. Dr Khan has submitted his mercy petition to the president and requested clemency in view of his services to national security."

 "I realised these activities, which were in clear violation of Pakistani laws, could have seriously jeopardised Pakistan's nuclear capability and put the nation at risk," Khan, who was sacked as special adviser to the president on Saturday,  is quoted as saying.