The Hindu

Islamabad, Mar 20: India on Thursday said it hoped its national Sarabjit Singh, who is on death row for alleged involvement in terrorist attacks, would be granted clemency on humanitarian grounds following the staying of his execution by the Pakistan government.

President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday deferred the hanging of Sarabjit, scheduled for April 1, by a month after receiving an appeal for clemency from the Indian government and the condemned man's family.

"The government of India continues to hope that Sarabjit Singh will be granted clemency on humanitarian grounds," said a statement issued by the Indian High Commission here.

"The reprieve now allows time for the appeals for clemency to be given proper consideration from all angles, including by the new government expected to take office in Pakistan soon," it said.

The statement said the Indian government was "pleased to learn that Sarabjit Singh's execution has been stayed".

"The news was received with appreciation in the Indian Parliament yesterday. Sarabjit Singh's family has also expressed its gratitude for all the support received for Sarabjit's cause," it said.

The breather for Sarabjit coincided with the release by India of Pakistani national Jamal Qureshi, who arrested in India in October 2005 on charges of spying and possessing fake currency.

Qureshi was handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Wagah land border on Wednesday after being acquitted by a fast-track court in Uttar Pradesh.

Sources in the Pakistani administration said the authorities concerned with Sarabjit's case had decided that it would be best for the issue to be "put on hold" till the new government is formed by the Pakistan People's Party and its allies.

While seeking clemency from Pakistan for Sarabjit, India had said that the impression that he is being executed in retaliation for the death of another Pakistani, Khalid Mehmood, while in custody in India would "impinge on the positive atmosphere" between the two countries.

Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur sent a appeal for clemency directly to Musharraf and requested him for permission to visit Pakistan to meet her brother in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail.

Sarabjit was sentenced to death in 1991 for his alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan that killed 14 people. His family denies he is a spy as claimed by Pakistan and insists he accidentally strayed into Pakistani territory.

The mercy petition of Sarabjit, who Pakistan claims is Manjit Singh, was rejected by Musharraf on March 3.

Sarabjit's mercy petition was sent to Musharraf along with that of Indian prisoner Kashmir Singh, who was pardoned and freed after spending 35 years on death row in Pakistani jails.

Pakistan's Supreme Court had rejected Sarabjit's plea for clemency in March 2006.