NEW DELHI : Mohammad Afzal Guru, who has been sentenced to death in the Parliament attack case, has appealed to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for clemency, under Article 72 of the Constitution.

His petition was handed over to the Tihar Jail authorities on Wednesday and forwarded by them to the Union Home Ministry on Thursday.

A release from the Society for the Protection of Detainees' and Prisoners' Rights quoted Afzal as saying that he did not file a petition earlier "not out of any arrogance or ill-will" but because he had "no hope of getting justice." However, he was deeply moved when the President received his family members and that kindled a new hope that he might still get justice.

According to the release, Afzal said the fact that the entire country sought clemency for him had "truly given me a new hope that I may live and be able to see my son grow up.'' For a man in his position, he said, there was nothing else to hope for.

He reportedly stated that he did not express remorse or ask for forgiveness because "I cannot ask for forgiveness for something I have not done.''

``I was entrapped by corrupt officers of the Special Task Force. The fact is that I had surrendered and I was desperately trying to study and earn a living to support my family.'' However, he said, the STF did not allow him to live a normal life and ``they destroyed our small family."

"I do not think that the attack on Parliament served the cause of the Kashmiri people and I am genuinely sorry for the family members of those who died doing their duty. I feel no personal enmity towards the nine people killed or the 16 other injured. It is, unfortunately, the poor and vulnerable who suffer. Even if no one believes me, I can honestly say that I do not justify or rationalise the pain of the children who lost their fathers on that day, just as I feel the pain of my seven-year-old son who is living with the nightmare that his father may be hanged any day", the release quoted Afzal's petition as saying.

He said from the time of his deposition before the trial court he did not know the names of the dead terrorists. The release said Afzal believed he did not get one moment of fair trial.

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