The Hindu : Front Page : Sarabjit execution put off till April 30

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 20, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Sarabjit execution put off till April 30

Sandeep Dikshit

Efforts on to save his life, says Pranab

Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

RELIEF: Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur addresses journalists in New Delhi on Wednesday. —

NEW DELHI: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has stayed the execution of Sarabjit Singh till April 30, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee informed Parliament on Wednesday.

He said the government was continuing its efforts to save Sarabjit’s life. “We have achieved partial success and we will continue to carry on our efforts.”

The Pakistan’s Foreign Office had informed the Indian High Commission in Islamabad that the President had stayed the execution. However, the impression that Sarabjit was being executed in retaliation for the custodial death of a Pakistani in India would “impinge on the positive atmosphere” between the two countries, Mr. Mukherjee added.

“Mistaken identity”

Sarabjit was sentenced to death for his alleged involvement in serial bomb blasts in two Pakistan cities that killed 14 people.

His family, however, claims that it is a case of mistaken identity and that Sarabjit only strayed across the border.

With his lawyer exhausting all legal remedies and the retired General Musharraf rejecting his mercy petition, his family has mounted a campaign to get the death sentence commuted.

Sister’s efforts

Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur has met top political leaders, including United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, seeking their intervention . She has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Punjab Assembly recently passed a resolution in support of Sarabjit, and his sister has appealed to the Pakistan President for clemency and also sought permission to visit her brother in jail.

Nirupama Subramanian reports from Islamabad:

The Indian High Commission here said it had “informally” learnt of the deferment of the sentence from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.

High Commission officials hoped that the one-month period of stay would be used for a proper consideration of the clemency pleas .

“We don’t know what the ultimate outcome will be, but we are pinning our hopes on a fair consideration of the appeals for clemency,” a senior Indian diplomat said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page