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Tuesday, Aug 23, 2005

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Parliament voices concern

Special Correspondent

Says it is a case of mistaken identity Ahluwalia said 550 Indians were languishing in Pakistani jails

NEW DELHI: Parliament on Monday voiced concern over the death sentence awarded to an Indian national in Pakistan for his alleged involvement in bomb blasts there, saying it was a case of mistaken identity and New Delhi should urgently take up the matter with Islamabad.

Raising the issue in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, members said that Manjit Singh, the man sentenced to death, was actually Sarabjit Singh from Amritsar. The issue was taken up by Avinash Rai Khanna (BJP) and Ratan Singh Ajnala (Shiromani Akali Dal), who were supported by several members. This prompted Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to say that the Government should take appropriate action.

In the Rajya Sabha, the issue was raised by BJP member S.S. Ahluwalia, who found support from members cutting across party lines. He said 550 Indians were languishing in Pakistani jails and demanded that efforts be made by the Government to seek their release.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachauri said he would convey the sentiments of the members to External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh. Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat wanted the Government to inform the House about the state of Indians in Pakistani jails.

Consular access sought

B. Muralidhar Reddy reports from Islamabad:

India has asked Pakistan to provide consular access to Sarabjit Singh whose death sentence for spying has been upheld by the Pakistan Supreme Court.

Officials in the Indian High Commission said the request for consular access was also made for 100 other Indian prisoners lodged in different jails of Pakistan.

"The request was made before the Pakistan Supreme Court upheld the death sentence. We have not heard anything from the Government so far. There is no truth in reports in a section of the media about India taking up the matter of Sarabjit Singh in recent days," an official in the mission said.

Mr. Singh, a resident of the border village of Bikhiwind in Punjab, went missing in August 1990. According to his family members, he inadvertently strayed across the border into Pakistan and was taken into custody after being mistaken for an agent of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

He was accused of masterminding bomb blasts in Lahore. A Pakistani court handed Mr. Singh — whom it identified as a RAW agent Manjit Singh — a death sentence, which was upheld by the apex court last week. His family has appealed to Pervez Musharraf for mercy.

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