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Only Musharraf can take a call on Sarabjit, says Pak PM's adviser
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SPECIALCORRESPONDENT on 20 April, 2008 01:24:00
 
Lahore: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani's Adviser on Interior
Affairs, Rehman Malik, has said that with the exception of Sarabjit Singh, who
has been on death row in Pakistan for the past 17 years, all other death row
inmates may have their sentences changed to life imprisonment. The Pakistan
government has written a letter to Pakistan Pervez Musharraf urging him to
commute the death sentence of Sarabjit Singh to life sentence.
However, talking to mediapersons, Malik also added that only President Pervez
Musharraf would take a final decision on Sarabjit Singh's case, while the fate
of the rest of those on death row was in line with the policy of the Pakistan
People's Party (PPP). But, there has not been any official response from the
Pakistan President to the letter or appeal made by Indian government and human
rights organisations.
His execution was deferred for 30 days by President Pervez Musharraf last month
so that Pakistan's new government could review his case following an appeal for
clemency from India. He was originally to be hanged on April 1. Presidential
spokesman Major General (retired) Rashid Qureshi on Saturday denied reports in
the media that Sarabjit's execution had been postponed for one more month.
Sarabjit wants to see his daughter
On the other hand, Sarabjit Singh has reportedly sent a special request to
authorities in Islamabad to be allowed to meet his younger daughter Poonam whom
he has never seen. With a spokesman of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf
saying on Saturday that there are no plans to put off Sarabjit's execution of
April 30, Sarabjit conveyed his request to Indian High Commission officials who
met him at Lahore's high security Kot Lakhpat Jail on Saturday.
Sarabjit's daughters - Swapandeep and Poonam- his wife Sukhpreet Kaur, his
sister Dalbir Kaur and her husband Baldev Singh are expected to arrive Lahore on
April 23 to meet him. The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has granted them
visas to facilitate their visit to Pakistan last week.
Sarabjit, who Pakistan claims is Manjit Singh, was sentenced to death in 1991
for his alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in Punjab province of Pakistan
that killed 14 people. His family denies that he is a spy as claimed by Pakistan
and insists he accidentally strayed into Pakistani territory.
Sarabjit has repeatedly reiterated that his was a case of mistaken identity and
that he had not committed the crimes he was convicted for. Indian government has
also conveyed it to Pakistan that he is not Manjit, as claimed by Pakistani
authorities. India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday made a
fresh appeal to the Pakistan government to grant clemency to Sarabjit on
humanitarian grounds.
Saturday's meeting was only the second time in 18 years that Indian officials
were granted consular access to Sarabjit, who was arrested in 1990. Officials
said that Sarabjit appeared to be "healthy, but emotionally in a state of
tension and stress".