The Hindu : Front Page : Sarabjit will not be hanged

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 06, 2005

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Front Page

Sarabjit will not be hanged

Amit Baruah

Pakistan's assurance to India

Sarabjit Singh

NEW DELHI: India has been assured that Sarabjit Singh of Punjab, who is facing the death penalty in Pakistan, will not be hanged.

Senior South Block officials told The Hindu that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had sent a message to Pakistan and External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh had taken up the case with Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan.

The Indian understanding is that the Pakistan Supreme Court's decision will not be implemented — that is Sarabjit Singh will not be hanged — despite the recent confirmation of the death penalty. Also, he could be granted clemency and eventually released.

The officials maintained that New Delhi was informed that the Sarabjit case had become an "emotive issue" following the attention it received in the press. India was all appreciation for the Pakistan Government's positive attitude, they said.

Two options

Sarabjit has two legal options — he can either get relief through a review petition in the Supreme Court or President Pervez Musharraf could pardon him.

Sarabjit's review petition, which his lawyer Rana Abdul Hamid has been planning to file in the Supreme Court, is likely to be bolstered by the statements made by Salim Shaukat, whose father was killed in the 1990 serial blasts in Lahore and Multan. Sarabjit, being held in Kot Lakhpat, near Lahore, has been convicted of carrying out the blasts.

Unsure of involvement

Shaukat, a key witness in the case, was quoted by Indian television channels as saying that he identified Sarabjit because a lawyer had told him to do so. He said that he was not sure whether Sarabjit was actually responsible for the blasts.

Meanwhile, the External Affairs Ministry confirmed on Monday that Sarabjit was an Indian national. This has been formally conveyed to the Pakistan authorities.

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